Dead Accord
by Meg2
Summary: Follows "Dead and Gone, With The Wind" and "My Telepathic Friend" Spoilers for all eight books, the short story "Gift Wrap", first chapter of "Dead and Gone" and from synopsis of "Dead and Gone" on major bookseller websites.
1. Chapter 1

A/N- This story takes place after the point my other two, "Dead and Gone, With the Wind" and "My Telepathic Friend" left off. It assumes you have read all eight of the Sookie books, "Gift Wrap" from _Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, _The first chapter of _Dead and Gone_, (Book 9 in the Sookie Stackhouse Series, where first chapter is available on Charlaine Harris's website) and that you have also seen the synopsis of "Dead and Gone" that now appears on Barnes and Noble's website's description of the book.

The characters of the Sookieverse are the creation of Charlaine Harris. I hope she doesn't mind my borrowing them for a few hours. I'm poor, Charlaine, and love your books. Don't sue me.

**Dead Accord**

**I.**

(taped onto a sheet of note paper on the refrigerator door:)

WORD OF THE DAY

February 21

**Accord**

verb

**1 **[ trans. ] give or grant someone power, status, or recognition

**2 **[ intrans. ] be harmonious, in agreement* or consistent with.

noun

**1** an official agreement or treaty.

**2 **agreement or harmony

ORIGIN Old English , from Old French _acorder__** 'reconcile, be of one mind,' **_from Latin _**ad- 'to' **_+ _**cor**_,_** cord- 'heart' **_; influenced by _concord_.

(Handwritten below, in various colors of ink and in pencil)

* * *

Addendum (reader's note- this one is scratched out, but we can't get strikethrough to work in html on this website... )

Addenda

*To be in accord with Eric Northman: conceding to his wishes at all times and in all things (please see autocracy or dictatorship in dictionary for further details.)

Someone should tell Miss Stackhouse that she ought to know better. For the record, having someone watch over her is a sign she is held in high regard, not 'stalked' or 'denied her privacy'.

Someone should tell Mr. Northman to keep his hands off my damn word. -Sookie

It is gratifying that Miss Stackhouse is exploring the use of possessive pronouns. -E.

**

* * *

  
**

It was almost the end of the month. Sam was back from Texas, his mom was fine, and I was relieved, as of Tuesday, to no longer be managing his bar. I was going to be working the day shift for a few days, so that I could relax and get more sleep.

The third week of the Northman campaign to win my heart had suffered a setback shortly after a third pleasant Sunday 'movie night'. I was getting tired of seeing Bill Compton every damn night in the bar and when Tray went home sick on Monday in the early evening, Bill wanted to see me home. I refused. Politely, but firmly. Imagine my dismay when I discovered that not only did he follow me home anyway but that he was also hovering around my house "just checking things out, since Tray hadn't seen me home". In the argument that ensued, Bill lost his temper and let it slip that he was under orders and that I was just going to have to suck it up and take it, because he was going to do as he had been asked to do, whether I liked it or not. It didn't take much figuring to know where those orders came from and I was none too pleased. We had quite the shouting match and his angry fangs were on prominent display. After asking Mr. Compton to kindly leave Stackhouse property, I called Eric's cell phone and got his voicemail. Sadly, it appears that vampires dial much faster than humans do. A short time later I received a real gem of a text message from the Area 5 Sheriff.

_Bill is supposed to be making sure you are safe. It's for your protection. Stop arguing with him. _

To which I replied:

_I do not like feeling stalked by my ex-boyfriend. It is an invasion of my privacy and it pisses me off that you think you can make this kind of arrangement behind my back._

The 'repentant' reply:

_Too bad. Do you think the Alien vs. Predator movie would be too gory?_

Sometimes, Eric just took my breath away. And I do not mean that in a positive sense.

The next morning, Tuesday, I arose to the peace of knowing I would no longer be managing Merlotte's in Sam's absence. Sam got back in town shortly after 9 am, and he didn't even look all that exhausted from taking care of his mom or from the three hour drive that morning. His was one welcome face to see at 10:30 am at the bar. He told me again and again throughout the day that he could never thank me enough. I gave him a hug when I was leaving and told him that it had been a great learning experience. It really had. I had so much more respect for anyone running their own business, especially a bar or restaurant.

After a much easier day of work than I'd had in weeks, I went home, showered and contemplated how relaxing it was to have free time. I was pleasantly surprised when Pam came to visit for a while. She showed up at about 7 pm, having called at 6:30 pm to ask if she could come over. Amelia was out with Tray, which didn't seem to bother Pam in the least. I knew Amelia said they still talked regularly and she considered Pam a friend. I somehow didn't think I'd be feeling that same degree of ease with Quinn and the situation with Bill was even worse, since we grated on each other's nerves.

I was surprised when Pam showed up very casually dressed. We were both in jeans and sweatshirts and had no makeup on. She was going in to work late that night, around 11 pm, she told me, and would get ready later. Pam's visit felt like real friendship. She drank True Bloods and I drank sweet tea. We watched TV for a bit and painted each other's nails and chatted about all kinds of things. I tried to grit my teeth and be pleasant when she started in about the business of Bill watching me.

"So, did you pretty much come here on a mission for Eric, then, Pam? You can tell me the truth. I know it's not like you'd have much choice in the matter if he told you to come here and tell me I had it all wrong." I took a moment to admire my nails. She had painted my nails a soft pink. They looked really pretty.

"What if _I _just wanted to come here and tell you that you had it all wrong? Would it play better?"

"No."

"Well, you still have it all wrong. We need to make sure you are safe. Remember that Felipe…"

I cut her off. "Pam, my understanding was that you guys could offer me protection if I need it. Like if I asked for it, or if I disappeared, or if I was attacked by Weres again, or whatever. But I'm _not_ asking."

"Well, we're not asking either, Sookie. We're just _doing_." She smiled the most vampire smile you could imagine. That 'don't mess with me' smile. The one with the fangs down just enough to let you know they're getting annoyed with you and because they like you, they haven't ripped into you yet. And I don't mean that figuratively.

I looked away to try to be less confrontational and shook my head. "Can you explain to me why, if Eric wanted someone to watch me, he would ask Bill, Pam? What about Bubba? I thought Bubba was back. I'm fine with Bubba. I even have some affection for him. He can be downright sweet."

"Sookie, Bubba is… inept. And he leaves bodies around in awkward locations, as I understand it. Bill may not be your cup of tea these days, but he's very equal to the task and I'm sure that if there was any danger that he would neutralize it quickly."

"While stalking me, Pam," I said while grimacing. We needed a lighter mood, I thought to myself, as I put a quick drying top coat on her nails. We'd chosen a really dark red which was so _not_ Pam, but so right for working in Fangtasia.

"Sookie, we have been around a lot longer than you have. I can absolutely assure you, both as your friend, and as someone who swore to protect you, that you _need_ the protection. Really. Look at that so-called friend of yours who quit at the bar. Bill said that she said horrible things to you. What if those people she associates with went after you? And those are just _humans_. You are associated with all of us but have none of the abilities we do to protect ourselves. You need the protection and whether you like it or not, I'm with Eric on this one."

"Hmpf!" was my only comment.

"So Sookie, on the heels of Bill's losing his temper and telling you about his orders, and let me just mention I told Eric I could _totally_ understand losing one's temper when arguing with you about things… I hope you are not going to take this the wrong way…"

"What now, Pam…" I said with trepidation as I sprayed the nails with one of those quick drying sprays just to be sure.

"I'm giving you something and you're accepting it because you're my friend. Because I wanted to give it to you and it will make me happy. Refusal would be offensive to me."

When she came back into the house with the blue silk dress and the fine net wrap I started to cry. She looked appalled. I guess that under regular circumstances that I would have been upset with a friend giving me such an expensive gift, because there was no way I could reciprocate. But in a weird way, I felt like _she _was trying to reciprocate for Rhodes. Not like she thought that she could just buy me something to say thank you. But she was giving me something she knew I had liked, that we had found together and I could see she really wanted to give it to me to be kind. I couldn't refuse her gift, no matter how lavish it seemed to be to me. I knew that what she meant when she said she'd be offended was that she'd be _hurt_ if I refused it.

"It was so sweet of you, Pam. You really shouldn't have. It's so beautiful. Thank you. I really loved this dress."

"Can you explain why you are crying if you are happy? Because you really do not look at all displeased. And yet you cry. This just doesn't make sense to me."

I just hugged her and said, "It's very kind of you Pam. I'll think of you whenever I wear it."

She seemed pleased, even though I cried. I went and put it carefully into the closet next to the red dress. When I came back out, she had rinsed out her two bottles and was studying my word of the day from this morning, which I had taped onto a sheet of notepaper and taped to the refrigerator door. She made an odd chortling sound when she came to my recent addendum to the word 'accord'. That being in accord with Eric meant just conceding on every point and my allusions to autocracy and dictatorship. I realized he'd probably be annoyed when he saw it. _Too bad_.

"I always get the best material from you, Sookie. I can't wait to use this one… Autocratic and dictatorial, the telepath says…"

"I didn't _say_ that, Pam. Watch it."

"I'll be careful how I quote the written statement." She grinned like the Cheshire cat.

* * *

I was in bed by 10 pm, reading my book. Eric called at 11 pm and I was already half-asleep. He completely ignored the entire issue of Bill, and told me he was getting _House of Flying Daggers_ for tomorrow night because it reportedly had great fight scenes and was supposed to be beautiful, so it had something for both of us. He seemed so pleased that I would be off work on a weeknight when Fangtasia was closed. I was so sleepy I could barely muster replies for conversation. After talking about some of the funny things that had happened at this year's Dracula party (it had been back on the 8th and I was invited, but of course, was working at Merlotte's because Sam had been in Texas) that he'd forgotten to mention before, he fell silent.

"So, I guess I'll let you go to sleep. I'll be there tomorrow around 6:30 pm, okay?"

"Mmmm Hmmm," I said sleepily.

"I miss you," he said softly.

"Mmm. I miss you, too." I was really too sleepy to even mind what I was saying.

I felt a sudden rush of pleasure that was almost enough to rouse me. But I was really too tired to overanalyze it. I fell into what seemed to be a deep, dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**II.**

It was already 6:35 pm when I pulled into the drive. I was running late, really late, because Tanya had car problems and I covered for her until almost 6:30 pm. Sam finally told me to take off because she was on her way and he said he'd cover her station so I could go. I guess he could tell I was edgy and he saw me texting someone from my cell phone in the office. He didn't ask who I was texting but I was sure he knew. After my argument with Bill, I was pretty convinced that Eric had Sam keeping tabs on me too, and that Eric probably even knew my schedule directly from Sam. Right as I was leaving Letty, the _new _new girl we'd hired, smacked into me with two mugs of beer in her hand and spilled beer all over my shirt. I had an extra shirt at work but I was already running so late I didn't want to change there. I shivered as I went out into the brisk air with my wet shirt. I didn't want to get my jacket saturated, so I just dealt with it. It was a good thing it was a short drive home.

Eric was already waiting in the rocker on the back porch when I pulled around back and parked next to his car. How he'd gotten to my house from Shreveport twenty minutes after sunset was a mystery. He was perfectly still and not rocking at all, I guess he was on downtime even though he'd probably been awake for less than an hour. Vamps really conserve their energy since they are so tuned into everything when they are awake. But I'm sure he'd heard my car approaching way out on Hummingbird Road, though. As I got out of the car he rose quickly and gracefully. He was wearing black jeans with one of his dramatic belts and a dark red shirt. Not even a jacket and it was in the fifties. He had his hair pulled back. He was looking good, as always, I said to myself. As I got to the steps I noticed that he'd taken off his boots and was just in socks. I really don't get how he doesn't feel the cold. I mean, sure, he's dead, but he really seemed to love feeling _warmth_, so… Oh well.

He kissed me on the lips and I felt all kinds of butterflies inside. This little dance of ours had been going on for about three weeks and I had to be honest with myself that my resolve was fading. Although I'd often seen Eric as being flamboyant and somehow larger than life, in this pursuit he was quietly relentless. He was like water wearing down stone. He was visiting me several times a week, even if it was just to sit and chat at Merlotte's for twenty minutes while I worked and then drive back to Shreveport. He called me every night he didn't see me. On Sunday evenings he sat and watched movies with me and we snuggled. We made out but he never pushed for more other than occasionally teasing. He didn't even act upset about it, which really threw me for a loop. We still hadn't had 'the talk' because I was pretty much steadfast in my refusal to listen to any such 'talk'. I told him anything that had happened when he had stayed with me was completely irrelevant in my eyes because he hadn't been himself and that I had no interest in listening to any of it. Frankly, I think he was relieved. I know I was. The less drama, the better, as far as I was concerned.

Standing there on my back porch, I looked up at him and had the vague recollection that last night, before I'd fallen asleep, I had admitted to him that I missed him. The truth, I said to myself, is that in spite of all odds, I really enjoy his company. And as much as he can totally piss me off, he really gets me. I could not say that about any other man I'd been with. And as much as the fact that a thousand year old Viking vampire was the only guy I knew who seemed to get me, ought to upset me, it didn't at all. The bond, _our_ bond, had sort of removed whatever last veil there was separating my identification with Eric as just a person. He might think differently from me, act differently from me, have different motivations and even be very devious. But I liked him. And if I was honest with myself, really honest, maybe I more than liked him. And why would he even be going to all this trouble if he didn't mean it, I asked myself? It's not like he isn't busy and doesn't have plenty of other options. And he could be satisfied now with remembering, rather than just knowing, that he had had me, if that was all he was after. These were the things I contemplated in recent weeks during lulls in 16 hour long days at Merlotte's. The nagging voice of self-doubt, distrust and indecision, was slowly but surely being drowned out by Eric's persistence. Some part of me was still afraid of getting hurt again. But now, when I was with him, I really had never felt safer from being hurt in my entire life, and not just safe from being physically hurt by anyone. When we were apart sometimes negative thoughts preyed on me, whispering in my mind. But even those were getting worn down by Eric's patient persistence.

He looked down at me with a grin and chuckled at the way I smelled.

"Lover, I really thought you preferred gin?"

"Don't even get me started…" I was really shivering. It had soaked through onto my bra, so I was soaked to the skin and my thermometer near the door said 52 F.

I was so shivery that I dropped my keys trying to open the door and he swiftly picked them up and unlocked the door for me. The house was dark but warm. Octavia was in New Orleans this week and I had no idea where Amelia was. Well, strike that. I had a pretty good idea she was with Tray because I now knew that _Tray _watched me for Eric while Sam was away, too. Probably Amelia had been instructed to make herself scarce, I thought to myself.

"I need to get out of my clothes, I am just freezing." I walked off toward my room.

After turning on a lamp, I pulled off the wet shirt and started fussing with my bra. It was a new bra and the lower hook was so damn hard to undo. I really had to remember to try to loosen it a bit. But I suddenly had help getting it unhooked. Then he stroked his finger down my spine and kissed the top of my head as I slipped off the bra. In response I leaned back against him and he wrapped his arms around me. He was cool against my bare back. I shivered but it wasn't really just a temperature thing. I let out a deep sigh as I rested against his chest. He tentatively uncrossed his arms and shifted his hands from my waist up to my breasts, cupping them gently, then softly passing the palms of his hand over my nipples, which were so hard because I was so cold. I sighed again with the pleasure of it. I pulled away from him, turned around and looked up at his face, and into those dark blue eyes, which in turn just seemed to melt into mine. I put my hands on his shoulders and turned my head, offering a kiss and he just enveloped me. I pulled out his shirt and slipped my hands under it, caressing him while we kissed. He bent slightly lower and kissed my ear and my neck and then suddenly pulled away from me. He looked down at me with his fangs run down and with clearly constrained desires. I had felt this flood of desire through the bond but it was like it was wrapped in a fine net, to keep it from spilling out. He was being so cautious, so careful with me. I closed my eyes and thought for just a moment about what I really wanted. Then I withdrew my hands from under his shirt and took his hand and led him toward my bed.

We undressed each other without speaking, our hands and lips caressing each other. I lay back against my pillows, looking at him, and thought how odd it was for me not to feel shy. But I didn't. It wasn't exactly the thought that we had done this before, because really he _was_ different. It was some indefinable sense that really I could only describe as a sense of belonging. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at me as if to discern if I really meant it, that I really wanted him, that this was finally okay. That somehow touched me. I reached up and touched his face and drew him to me to kiss him.

Then he was all over me, in me, around me as we rode some crest of passion that was much stronger than what I had remembered. And what had he remembered? It seemed like he remembered everything. Everything I liked, everything I was too shy to ask for, everything. And I tried to look him in the eyes as much as I could, knowing he liked that, until sometimes the arc of pleasure just carried me away as he just seemed to roar through me. What I recalled later, more than all the pleasure, more than the murmurings as he kissed me, bit me, told me how beautiful I was, was a moment when his face was near mine and he picked up and pressed his lips into the palm of my hand and told me in a hoarse voice, looking me in the eyes,

"I love you, Sookie. You're mine and I love you."

Then he resumed, thrusting into me with great ardor, always looking me in the eyes even if he had to position us so that he could see my eyes in the mirror over my dresser. The intimacy in the way he looked at me was just overwhelming. This was not a man who could ever make you worry he was thinking about anyone or anyplace else. He was totally present. I did not speak, other than to cry out in pleasure again and again. And as I emerged from the enveloping fog of passion, his head on my chest, my hands stroking his hair, I felt almost lost. It was like going outside and looking around after a big storm and thinking it was all surreal. His words and voice seemed to echo in my head.

I felt him rubbing my inner thigh and became aware of his rubbing his blood into the bite wound there. Then he shifted up on his elbow to tend to a similar wound on my left breast. I gasped and he turned to look at me, surprised. As his hair had slipped away from his shoulder I saw a rapidly healing bite wound. I had bitten him, hard enough to leave a wound. I touched it, kind of horrified at myself.

"I… I can't believe I bit you. I'm _so_ sorry…" I was so taken aback. I didn't even remember biting him. Then I had a flash that I had bitten him several minutes ago, after his declaration and that he had then bitten my neck. It was all a swirl in my mind. I must have bitten hard if it still showed at all, some minutes later. That meant, too, that I'd had more of his blood. I had had small amounts of his blood before when we were lovers but only from bites he had made himself- his lips, his tongue. This was quite different. It was almost like another exchange, I thought to myself. I was still shocked I'd bitten him.

He just smiled and then held my face in his hand and kissed me. "It's fine," he whispered. He seemed really happy, actually. He gently tipped my head to the side and nipped his healing finger again and rubbed blood into the wound on my neck. He looked back over the others and squeezed a drop more onto the wound on my breast and rubbed gently. I arched toward him with a soft moan and he turned to me and smiled randily.

"_Really_?" he chuckled and his hand stroked down my waist and hips. "Well, I think you should eat something, Lover. We can watch the movie and then see if you are up for more. I will always be up for more," he said with a smirk.

"Um, I can see that," I commented with a laugh, finally finding my voice.

I lay there looking at him, looking into his eyes. My heart was just brimming with things I couldn't say. I guess he could feel them because he seemed completely at ease and happy with things just as they were.

He rose, went into the bathroom and washed up then looked around for his clothes. After dressing, he extended a hand to me, gently pulling me up from the bed. I picked up my clothes and put them in my dirty laundry basket and then took out a pair of soft sweatpants, panties and a sweatshirt and quietly dressed. He helped me pull the sweatshirt over my head and then stroked his fingers through my hair. We kissed again and then left the bedroom.

While I busied myself reheating some leftover roasted chicken for a quick dinner, Eric spent time checking email and making a few calls. He didn't seem to mind being there while I ate at all. So different from Bill, I thought. He told me Pam said hello in the midst of reading something and then moments later rose and examined the item taped to the refrigerator door. He stood there for a few moments and then glanced around the kitchen near the phone and retrieved a pen from the glass near the memo pad there. He removed the paper from the fridge door, sat down at the kitchen table and wrote a note. Then he rose and carefully put the note back in the exact same place and then returned the pen to its place. He sat back down and went right back to doing email. With a chicken drumstick in my hand I went over and perused the recent addendum. I almost spewed my mouthful of chicken at the refrigerator door. I shook my head. 'Held in high regard?' Now he was going to tell me how I ought to feel about having Bill around?

As if in response to my reaction he said, "You know Sookie, I really don't see what your problem is with having someone look out for you," without even looking away from his phone. "It's not like you haven't had your share of close calls, now is it? I can think of quite a few times you've been in harm's way."

"Why Bill, Eric? Why Bill? Do you know how annoying it is to have Bill following me around, lurking outside my house? For _weeks_."

"Well, Bill is rather a lot sharper than Bubba is, and I seem to remember his offering to give his life for yours, so I'm going with that, Lover." Still not even bothering to look up…

"Well, I'm sure that's going to be over about a minute after he realizes what's going on between us, and considering how much you and Pam have tried to goad him, I really think you ought to consider it the other way around, like what he could do to get back at us Eric." I gave him a cold look.

Now he looked up at me. "He already knows, Sookie. He already knows that you're bound to me. He knows what that means and he still wants to watch over you. So it's not a concern."

I stopped chewing and swallowed. "What do you mean? What does it mean? I thought it was just that Andre wanted to control me? Other than just the feelings stuff, what does it mean?"

"You're _mine_. The only way that another vampire can have you, unless you wish to leave me, is by killing me. It's not going to fade. It's permanent." He looked me in the eyes as he delivered the short speech.

I felt a chill run down my spine. I thought about Andre and suddenly felt sick. Permanent? And somehow I had this feeling that Andre's rules of the bond would probably have been quite a bit different from Eric's. I didn't think that leaving part would have been an option, for instance. I remembered Andre coolly telling me that my human life as I knew it was over. I looked at Eric and felt amazement. "Why? Why would you do that for me if it lasts permanently? If he wanted you to control me, and he found out that it didn't work, they could have killed you for lying to him, couldn't they?" Would Sophie-Anne have done that, I wondered?

"Well, it never came to that, so it's not relevant. And why wouldn't I take the risk? There is always the option of saying 'please' to get you to work. And you were already mine. It just made it more official."

Already his? What was he talking about? "But I was with Quinn, Eric." I looked at him like I basically thought he was crazy.

"Everyone makes mistakes, Lover. We both did. But since you say don't want to discuss the past, let's just agree that I can have anyone I want help to keep you safe, alright?"

Quinn was a mistake? Well, I guessed that was a fair assessment. I flashed on Quinn offering to kill Eric. Quinn killing Andre. Quinn was really eager to kill people, I thought in retrospect. Eric had never said anything even remotely similar about a potential rival, I noted to myself. I tried not to dwell on the Quinn and Andre thing because I still was very uncomfortable with it and frankly still worried about what Eric could think or do if he found out. Pretty much everyone agreed that Sophie-Anne likely ended up dead just because Andre hadn't survived Rhodes. He had been masterful at keeping her safe for centuries. I was actually quite sorrowful that Andre's death put her further in harms way. I felt guilty about it, even though I had not had a direct hand in Andre's death and even though I knew his death put me further from harm. Ignoring those thoughts, I said again, "But seriously, Eric, I was with Quinn. What were you thinking?"

He worked his jaw a bit before answering, scrolling through email on his stupid Blackberry. I was definitely getting the idea that the phone was a way to create a bit of distance, so that he could avoid getting into an argument with me.

"I was biding my time until he screwed up, Sookie. It was a matter of time. I am patient. And by the time we were at Rhodes I knew you would be mine. Although it was rather repellant every time the man laid a hand on you or fucked you. But I knew I would have you. I was certain of this. I was even more certain after the bond. You would not stay with him. You were mine." He looked up to stare at me and his eyes glowed.

Mine, mine, mine. Geez, enough with the possessive stuff, already, I thought to myself. These vampires just wrote the book on possessiveness.

One thing had still floated around in my mind leaving me uneasy for months now. I had to ask. I just had to. "Did you know what Andre was planning?" I asked, feeling almost fearful of the answer.

He looked me directly in the eyes. "No. No, I did not know. I'd already felt your fear of him. You had been afraid of him since New Orleans. I felt your terror when he tried to bind you to him. It was one of those times when you make a spur of the moment choice. This was the best option. I wanted you and I chose to protect you. I chose you even over my own interests, because believe me, if Andre and Sophie-Anne had found out that I had lied about being able to keep you in my thrall we would have had some serious back-peddling to keep ourselves safe. But still, we were lucky he accepted my idea. I couldn't expect to kill him and have things go well. But the thought of you being bound to him was… not an option."

I kind of shuddered internally. I didn't want to go there as to why my being bound to Andre would not be an option in his mind. I was thinking I'd just trust him on that one. And killing Andre _was_ an option that he had even considered in those moments? That kind of stunned me because really, other than all-out fights and someone attacking us, Eric didn't seem too prone to wanting to kill people.

"That night at Merlotte's Felipe seemed sort of surprised that I was bound to you. Why?"

"It's not a common thing. Do you want to watch the film?" he said rising, with a smile. It seemed like a very abrupt change of subject.

"Okay. Why don't you set it up while I clean this up," I said referring to the plates and glass. He nodded and left the kitchen.

He changed the subject so quickly, I thought to myself. It made me uneasy that I still really didn't quite understand what the bond represented. His words in Rhodes still echoed in my mind "_I like being like this. You'll like it, too."_ In fact, that had been his reply when I had asked if the bond would fade. He hadn't wanted, then, to tell me it was permanent. What else was there that he might not be telling me? I wondered.

As I washed up I recalled Claudine warning me that I was getting sucked into the vampire world right before I went to Rhodes. She said it would mark me as theirs. She had been right. Although I still didn't know exactly what it all meant, in their world I evidently now 'belonged' to Eric. That sense of belonging that I felt earlier… I reflected on that. It didn't feel uncomfortable, or like something I didn't want exactly. I guessed it was that there was a distinction to be made. I wasn't thrilled about the belonging _to_ someone concept. Part of me, though, didn't balk at the idea of belonging _with _Eric. I still felt confused about my feelings. I could much better separate his feelings from mine than I could months before but wondered, in the evolution of my feelings for him, how much was me, how much was him? How much was the bond itself? Did it even matter, if we were happy?

The movie had beautiful cinematography, gorgeous costumes and scenery and a lot of fighting, which Eric seemed to enjoy, although he seemed to think some of it was really like a comedy. My mind was totally elsewhere, however, thinking about the bond, what it meant, and about what Eric had told me during sex. He'd said he loved me. And I could not reply. But he seemed so confident about everything being fine. In the past year, both when he was with me, and then later, in Rhodes, he had asked me if I'd loved him, meaning during that other time, and I said maybe, sort of. Maybe Pam was right, I thought to myself. Maybe I've just been in denial. Maybe it began then but just grew from there. Or maybe it began even before then. I had really missed the real Eric, who had been my friend, and to whom, I had to admit, I was really attracted, even though I thought he was so political and sly. I had missed him both when he was cursed, and afterwards, when he was angry and unpleasant for months. Now the real Eric I enjoyed was back in full measure, but with an added tenderness with me that really, I'd have to say, was not all that different from that displayed by the amnesiac Eric. He certainly seemed quite confident, really ever since the bond, that I _did_ love him, I thought to myself. I mean, really, there was no other way I could interpret it. Maybe I did and I was lying to myself because it was safer.

What could it mean to love a vampire? To really love him? It frightened me because all I could think about was growing old and losing his affection. There was no way I would ever want to be turned. I would not want to lose my life, aging and mortal though it might be, for their lifestyle. Part of me now just felt like I was in an even greater maelstrom of confusion over everything. My mind was just spinning.

In the middle of a striking scene in a green bamboo forest, Eric pulled me onto his lap and leaned me against him so that my back was against his chest and my head rested against his jaw. Without looking away from the screen, he said softly,

"It will all be fine, Sookie." He wrapped his arms around me, kissed my temple and went on watching the movie.

After the movie he carried me to the bedroom and we made love again, but it was quieter, gentler, and with more attention on other means, as if he was afraid he was going to leave me too sore. After snuggling in bed with me for almost an hour afterwards, holding hands and talking about the movie, about the coming trip to Vegas, about all kinds of things, he rose and said he was going to go. I felt a stab at my heart that he wouldn't stay until I fell asleep but said nothing.

After he dressed, he texted something on his Blackberry and commented that he was telling Bill he was leaving for the evening. I got mad at that.

"Well he better not set foot over here. The house is well warded and there's no reason for him to be around here. If anyone approaches I'm sure he'll hear them on the gravel."

"Lover, I thought we had an agreement?" He looked down at me with reproachful eyes.

"I never agreed with the idea of having Bill around my house, Eric. And I'm not too keen on his knowing about your comings and goings, on top of it." I sat against my pillows with my arms crossed over my bare chest. The whole idea of Bill knowing when Eric was here and when he left and therefore likely when we were having sex was just plain gross to me. It was making me no better than Bill had been with me when he brought Selah Pumphrey around, flaunting her in my face, knowing I could read the woman's every damn thought. But I was too proud to get into that whole thing with Eric. While I knew that Bill had to follow Eric's edicts, I felt like this put me in the role of stooping to Bill's level of behavior.

"Alright, then we don't have an agreement. But Bill Compton _is_ watching over you and your house, Sookie." He leaned over and kissed me on the lips, stroking my cheek as if to say he was sorry to be upsetting me. He said he'd lock the door behind him and then he left.

I sank down into my pillows. I was mad to be left alone and even madder that Bill was somewhere out there, minding my business. I got up from the bed after a few minutes, slipped on my nightgown and went to the kitchen for a glass of milk. I grabbed a pencil and made a new note on my word.


	3. Chapter 3

**III.**

From the moment he woke, he knew something was wrong. He opened his eyes and there was silence. None of the usual pleasant hum, the warm feeling of her humor, the whirring of her working life, her lush affection. He rose and searched through his mind and couldn't find her. It was like she was gone. With a sense of urgency he looked for the cell phone and then turned it on, which he usually preferred not to do at home, since it meant he could be located there by triangulation. He looked at his clock. It was 6:12 pm. It seemed to take forever for the screens on fucking thing to load everything he thought to himself. And then the messages began to appear in the inbox. Skipping around ones that could wait he found Merlotte, Amelia Broadway, another Merlotte. He sat down again and paused for a minute before opening the messages. Was she dead? Because surely, he felt nothing. Nothing at all of her. He opened the first message, time stamped at 11:30 am.

_Sookie a no show at work. Never happened before. Not answering at house or cell. Hope she is with you?_

Amelia Broadway's message, 11:45 am,

_Heard from Sam. Sookie not in house. Bedroom feels odd. Very concerned. Calling Sam back, message to Bill._

Merlotte's second message, 4:45 pm

_Finally got to her house. Something is wrong. Fae scent in house. Not Niall Brigant. Not Claudine. Waiting at house. Concerned._

He dressed as quickly as he could, called Pam, and then flew.

When he got to the house shortly after 6:30 pm Amelia, Sam, Bill, that waitress he knew worked with her at Merlotte's, Holly, were there, along with two other women he had never seen before. He nodded to everyone and then Sam and Bill went into the house with him. Amelia followed and explained that she hadn't touched a thing and that she'd barely entered the room on Sam's instruction. She noted that Sookie would never have left a wet bath towel on her bed, clothes on the floor or left a coffee cup standing on her dresser and that something in the room didn't feel right.

The scent of fae in the room was still strong yet it was slightly odd. It was definitely not that of Niall or Claudine or, in fact, any fairy he knew personally. But there was another odd scent. Not quite fae. He walked around looking at the room, trying to remember it from last night. Things seemed pretty much the same except for three things. There was a bath towel on the bed, the nightgown on the floor near the dresser and the coffee cup. Then as he knelt down to look around on the floor, he noticed her cell phone was on the floor near the nightgown. It was open.

He retrieved it and after clearing the missed call notice found that she had been in the phonebook and had entered a sole letter, 'N'. He put it on the dresser, next to the coffee cup, which he noted, was still half full. He took out his own phone and began dialing, while looking back at the others.

Amelia spoke up. "I have three other witches here. I want to try to do an ectoplasmic reconstruction."

Eric held up his hand, asking her to pause. Then he walked out of the room and they all followed. He murmured something in a low voice into the phone, waited to hear a reply and then began talking again with some urgency. Sam and Bill just looked at one another. Everyone was tense, worried. Eric went out on the back porch and his conversation turned heated with whomever he was talking. Bill leaned slightly in that direction as if straining to hear. The call finished and Eric came back into the house.

Within moments, Claudine and Claude popped into the living room, giving the two vampires a wide berth. Eric greeted them with a nod and gestured that they should follow him to the room and told Bill to stay back in the living area of the house. They emerged a few minutes later with Claudine looking _very_ worried, Amelia thought. She had her hand over her mouth and was wide-eyed. Claude looked puzzled.

"I would like to do an ectoplasmic reconstruction, so that we can see what happened in her room," Amelia repeated. "We need to see what went on."

Claudine thought for a moment and then asked, "Can you reconstruct things if fairies were involved? If there was magic involved in her disappearance?"

Amelia looked thoughtful for a minute. "Really, it should work on recreating anything in the room that was in corporeal form. Beyond that, I don't know."

Eric looked thoughtful for several minutes. "Can we do it with the others outside the room and you being the only one inside with us? This is not information we would want to have passed around. It's either that, or the others will have to agree to be glamoured either by us, or by Claudine." He nodded to Claudine.

Amelia said, "Sure. We just need the right positions. They do not have to be in the specific room. We need to establish the boundary."

"Then do it," Eric said grimly.

Claudine said in a low voice to Eric, "Should we wait for the Prince?"

"It will take a while for you to set this up, right Amelia?" Eric asked her.

"Yes," she said nervously.

"Well then, go ahead and start working on it. Claudine, maybe you want to tell your Prince to put a move on it, since he wasn't very receptive when I spoke to him earlier."

Eric then went outside and sat on the back porch, looking off into the woods behind the house. He looked grim.

Sam and Bill followed him out. Bill seemed confused and in general eager, to get Eric outside to question him.

Bill said, "So let me get this straight. Sookie Stackhouse is related to the Prince of the Fae? How?"

Eric just waved his hand in the air in an annoyed fashion. "She's his great-granddaughter. He revealed the fact about four months ago. It's a long and complicated mess and he still hasn't come clean on some of it. I've known him for several centuries and he's got many enemies."

Bill seemed to absorb that information. "Did you know this before?"

"No, of course not, Bill. I didn't know, she didn't know." He seemed to think it was a topic for discussion another time.

"So what do you think happened?" Sam asked Eric, rather more pertinently.

"I think they knew the house was being watched at night and they waited until after dawn. They were obviously able to completely bypass the wards on the house, which means whoever we're dealing with is pretty magical or had been here before. I think…" and here he hesitated before saying, "I think she's a bargaining chip. At least I'm hoping that's what she is. Because if she isn't, then things may be much worse."

He stared off into the woods. He had to try to remain focused. If he allowed himself any emotion it would make it harder and perhaps more dangerous. He looked at facts. First, he could not understand how they could have found her. The only ones that knew directly of her location, and even he thought of her very existence, should be Niall, Claudine and Claude. Had they taken Jason? He wondered.

"Sam, call Jason and see if he picks up," Eric requested.

Sam called Jason and he answered. He rather lamely, since they were on the outs still, asked if Jason had seen or talked to Sookie today. Jason sounded puzzled as he said "Of course not, she hardly speaks to me." He chatted on for a minute and then said goodbye.

Eric took it all in. Clearly either they hadn't done their homework on Niall Brigant's great-grandchildren, he thought to himself, or they thought the only one that really mattered was Sookie. She was the only one that Niall wanted to meet, and she was the one possessed of the unusual gift. He wondered about something. He got up and went back inside.

In the living room he stood at a fair distance from Claudine and Claude, so as to avoid making them uncomfortable (the house just reeked of fae…) and asked,

"Claudine, have you ever had any indication that Sookie can read you? Read the fae mind?"

Claudine paused for a moment and thought carefully about it. "No, not… not really. But she's very cautious about reading people she's close to, because she's always trying to give people their privacy. What do you think Claude?"

Claude thought about it. "I think she thinks I'm too self-centered to be interested enough to bother," he said with a snide tone. "But that time when we did the photoshoot… in some ways I think she could pick up on some things. It was like she picked up on how I _felt_. I don't know if it was really reading me as in directly reading my thoughts. She does feel something. But I don't think it's like she is with humans or with the Weres, no."

Eric stalked back out to the porch. If she couldn't be very useful to them as a Fae reading telepath, then she was only useful to them as Niall Brigant's great-granddaughter, which meant she was a hostage, a bargaining chip, or that she had been kidnapped for ransom, because Niall was very wealthy. There were very few among the Fae who would try something like this he thought to himself. It was likely someone who was really a powerful enemy, who was still counting on the thought that his mostly human great-grandchild would matter enough to force Niall's hand on something. The whole Fae society was crumbling. They were dangerous times. Regardless, they did not have a lot of time. She was human, and expendable and if they didn't act quickly or decisively he had no question in his mind that they'd kill her. They could kill her just for what she's seen and heard, he thought.

Amelia announced that she was ready. Holly looked very scared, he noticed. The other two women looked as if they were equal to the task. Amelia stated that the two more experienced witches would be outside the house. They were opening the windows so everyone could hear the chant. Holly would be inside, next door, in case she ran into trouble reciting the Latin. Then she explained that Holly was more of a novice. He rolled his eyes wondering if this was going to work at all. Each of the four had some sort of bag of powdered stuff he noted.

Just as everyone got into position, Niall arrived. He walked in and nodded to Claudine and Claude and regarded Eric coolly. Claudine went over and explained about the ectoplasmic reconstruction. Niall looked a bit skeptical. Amelia called them into Sookie's room, the Fae on one side, vampires and Sam on the other, and pressed them against the walls out of the way. She positioned herself near the doorway. Holly was in Octavia's bedroom next door and on the other side of the bathroom wall. The other two witches, in heavy jackets because of the chilly temperatures, were outside, one on the back porch near the kitchen and another on the side of the house outside Sookie's open bedroom window.

Amelia placed some of the powdered material from the bag on Sookie's bathtowel, which remained on the bed and the she mixed more with some hair from Sookie's hairbrush, and cast it around the four corners of the room.

"Begin!" called out Amelia. They simultaneously began chanting in Latin. After several minutes a liquid image began to appear in the bed. It began to take shape and became recognizable as Sookie. Eric, and really everyone except Amelia, leaned forward in rapt fascination. The chanting stopped. The liquid Sookie rose from the bed, stretched and went out to the kitchen. Amelia held her hand up, indicating they should wait in the room. The reconstructed Sookie came back into the room with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"It's on a timer, so it's already made when she gets up," she explained by way of explanation. She had given Sookie the coffee machine, which even ground the coffee fresh right in the maker, as a Christmas present.

The liquid, ectoplasmic Sookie put down the coffee cup, which seemed to disappear after she let go of it. Then she stripped out of her liquid nightgown and left it on the dresser and it too disappeared. She started the shower running in her bathroom and picked up the cup, which reappeared, and sipped her coffee while waiting for the water to get warm. She took a quick shower, perhaps five minutes at the most. Everyone looked around the room, wondering when any intruder would arrive, but nothing untoward appeared to take place yet.

The ectoplasmic Sookie exited the shower with the towel wrapped around her. She dropped it on the bed and it merged with the actual towel still there. Everything she touched seemed to have a liquid counterpart that dissolved away to the real one as she left each object behind. She took out clean clothes from the dresser and started to dress. She looked at her inner thigh after putting on panties and then put on her slacks. She put on a bra after examining her left breast. Finally she slipped on a shirt. She brushed her hair and put it into a ponytail. Then she examined her neck even more carefully in the mirror. She went back into the bathroom and started to apply some makeup, rubbing something onto her neck, and then mascara, from the looks of the reconstruction's motions. She took up her toothbrush but then seemed to think better of it and put it back down. Then it happened. Shortly before she exited the bathroom the man appeared suddenly in the room. He was about six feet tall and seemed dark haired. Eric sensed that Niall stiffened noticeably.

She exited the bathroom reaching for her coffee cup and then jumped when she saw the man. She opened her mouth as if she had cried out alarmed, clapped her hand over her mouth and then her mouth moved as if she was talking to the man. It was then that Eric realized that she clearly knew him. Her body language showed that she knew him, but she was very caught off-guard that he was in her house, and she was afraid. She edged closer to her dresser, closer to the door of the room. She was clearly unsettled, and increasingly afraid. As she swept by the dresser, the liquid nightgown reappeared and fell on the floor joining the real one, revealing the cell phone on the dresser, which she picked up and held in her right hand behind her.

The reconstructed man put out his hands as if suggesting that she should not fear him. She kept looking off into a corner, oddly, Eric thought, as if she felt something else in the room that they could not see. It was as if she must pick up a thought signature, he thought to himself, belonging to someone who is concealed there. She tried edging closer to the door to her room, talking to the man. Her movements showed that she was increasingly frightened. She kept glancing uneasily off into the corner, near where a standing mirror was placed. Suddenly, she tried to make a move for the door and a second man revealed himself, in the corner that she had glanced at several times. Claudine gasped and even Claude leaned away from the wall, farther into the room. Niall lowered his head. The second man commanded something, pointing at Sookie. Something about him looked familiar to Eric. He had seen him before, a long time ago. The first man grabbed Sookie and dragged her easily into the center of the room. She seemed to be asking what they wanted of her. She fiddled with the phone in her right hand behind her back, seeming to push buttons slowly, as if by trying to gauge their position on the keypad. The second man, stepping from the shadows in the corner of the room, laughed at her. He reached out and grasped her face roughly at the chin and looked down at her closely. He was as tall as Niall, but much darker in coloring. He let go of her face, again roughly, and then walked around her and knocked the phone from her hand, onto the floor, to where Eric had found it, but then it faded, since the real phone had been picked up and placed elsewhere. They spoke briefly. She looked angry, but so very frightened, on the verge of tears. The first man now seemed somehow remorseful, holding her, almost protectively so, his arms wrapped around her. Then the second man motioned to them, grabbed her wrist, and off they disappeared, into the corner with the mirror. She was gone.

Amelia looked exhausted. The witches chanted some closing of the spell and the reconstruction was at an end.

Eric turned to the three fairies off to his left. Claudine was crying. Clearly, it was as bad as he thought had thought it was. But how did she know the first man? Where had she met another fairy, and why had she never mentioned him?

"Well?" he asked Niall.

Niall looked very drawn and sober. He just shook his head.

"Who was the first man? She knew him. You clearly knew him," said Eric.

Niall stood straight and tall and looked at Eric as he spoke. "His name is Preston Pardloe. He met her at Christmastime. I… introduced them, so to speak."

Eric was not liking what he was sensing. "Introduced them in what sense?"

Niall walked out of the room. Wandering slowly toward the living area of the house, as if mulling something over carefully.

When he reached the living room he turned to Eric and said, "At Christmas, I gave Sookie a gift. Because she was alone. Preston visited her. But he was not told she was my great-grandchild."

"What _sort_ of 'gift'?" asked Eric coldly.

Eric looked at him with a hard stare, as did Bill. Claudine and Claude, who had followed them out of the room and were now pressed against a wall at a fair distance from the vampires, looked toward Niall as if they, too, wondered about the nature of this 'gift'. Sam sat in one of the living room armchairs with his head in his hands. Amelia hadn't even exited the bedroom area and was with Holly, talking through the window to the other witches.

Niall leaned against the wall near the kitchen and looked as if he was beginning to surmise that he had miscalculated several things.

"She had been alone, for some time. I asked Preston, who is very adept at changing shape, to appear as a Were, and to give her… pleasure."

At this Claudine gasped in outrage. "You did _what?_ You had someone to seduce her after what had already happened to her under the orders of the vampire Queen? You _tricked_ her? How _could_ you!" She looked completely indignant and as if she was completely forgetting that she was talking to him as her Prince. Bill Compton winced and looked away.

"You said she had broken with her 'boyfriend'. I wanted to please her," Niall replied to directly her.

Eric just closed his eyes and silently shook his head.

Claudine stamped her foot in outrage. "Are you mad?" she said fiercely. She narrowed her eyes looking at Niall. "I've watched her for _years_. You just make no effort to learn to see things from her perspective, to see her values or understand their morality. She never would have done such a thing without some sort of magic. _What_ have you done? Can you think she will forgive you for such a thing? And then the man turns out to have been in league with Dermot?! What were you _thinking_? Years of looking after her come to _this_?" She looked at him fiercely and wild-eyed. Claude put his arm around her and looked at Niall as if even he, too, was rather put off by the whole thing. Niall looked at her with unbridled fury.

"Do _not_ think to tell me your opinion on my actions, Claudine Crane…"

Meanwhile, as they argued, Eric had grown to his full height at the sound of Dermot's name. In mere seconds, he was on Niall, and grabbed him by the neck, slamming the huge fairy into the wall. Claudine screamed and Claude grabbed her, pushing her behind him as Bill sprang in front of them to guard Eric's back. Niall seemed totally caught off-guard by Eric's attack.

Eric snarled at Niall, "Tell me where to find that misbegotten son of yours. You and all your scheming… What have you done to her? What have you brought upon her? Your _gift_? Putting her into _his_ hands? It's the same as handing her to your enemies!" He gripped Niall's throat with his left hand and slammed him into the wall again, rattling everything in the house. His right hand pushed on Niall's chest. Sam, and Amelia, who had just exited the bedroom with Holly, were alarmed, as they looked from Eric and Niall to Bill facing off against Claudine and Claude. Holly scooted out of the room and went out the front door, just trying to get away from the scene.

"You showed no interest, Viking," said Niall hoarsely. "She was with someone else when I met her, though bound to you. What difference does it make you? She was alone. Preston was not in league with them. I had known him for some time. She deserved attention, companionship and the pleasure." Niall started to glow brightly as if he had lost his patience and would tolerate no more from Eric. His hair started to swirl and his eyes sparked.

At Niall's words, Eric slammed Niall into the wall yet again, then punched his right hand through the wall next to him and appeared to grab onto something. Slowly, creating an awful groaning sound that vibrated in the walls, he pulled an iron reinforcement bar out of the concrete in the wall. His hand was raw and bloody as he gripped the bar and pulled it free from the wall. Claudine screamed as it emerged. He pressed it flat against Niall's chest, and Niall's brightness dimmed and he gasped.

"You will tell me where to look for them, or they can start scrambling for a new Prince. She is _mine_ and you knew it!" shouted Eric, his eyes glowing like rubies.

Niall gasped from the pain of the iron so close to his flesh. Eric's hand was still very tight around his throat.

"If I am dead, she is worthless to them, Eric," he rasped out. "That will most certainly guarantee that they will kill her. While I am alive they can try to use her as a pawn. That is our only chance of recovering her. Remember why I asked you to bring her to meet me. Remember that I knew you could protect her in ways I could not."

Eric drew still closer to him, fangs now within biting distance of Niall's neck. "Chose me why? To help you start yet another war? Is that the game Niall? Another war between the vampires and the Fae? Do you really think me that simple?" He pulled the bent reinforcement rod away from Niall's chest and then grasped it like a weapon, pressing one end against his chest again as if to stab him with it.

Claudine sobbed openly while Sam stood up and tried to think of something, anything he could do to intervene, to settle things down again. There was nothing. Bill turned to see what was happening behind him but almost instantly turned back to the fairies in front of him in case they should try to intervene. Amelia just stood open-mouthed, taking in the scene.

Niall looked Eric in the eye and said hoarsely, "I give you my word I will help you find her. We will make no war. I will do everything in my power to avert a war. We will find her, Eric. I give you my word. We will get her back."

Eric stared him in the eyes for several moments and then loosened his grip, letting Niall slide down the wall slightly. Then he pressed the rod flat against one of Niall's cheeks, burning him with the cold iron.

"If they kill her I assure you that I will kill you and everyone of them involved. You remember this while you think of how we proceed. You, your son, all of them. Every fucking one. I will hunt you all down to the ends of this earth, to the very bounds of hell. Don't think I don't know where you hide Niall. There is no place you can go that I will not find you. After my more than thousand years on this earth, you are no match for me, _Prince_." He spat the last part out at him.

And with that he tossed Niall aside, out onto the center of the living room carpet. The acrid scent from the iron-burned flesh wafted through the room. Bill, Sam, Amelia and the fairy twins were wide-eyed and silent, looking away from both Niall and Eric.

He walked off to the kitchen and got a bottle of blood out of the refrigerator. While he heated it in the microwave he looked at the note, still taped to refrigerator door.


	4. Chapter 4

**IV.**

I was cold and I guess I was kind of in shock. I had no idea where I was, other than the fact that I was in a basement. I was afraid, rocking myself softly, as if to self-comfort. The door opened and Preston came down the stairs with a jacket and a blanket. I shrank back from him.

"I mean you no harm, Sookie. I had no choice here. They have my sister and they told me they would let her go if I helped them locate you."

I just stared at him. I was filled with anger and fear. The shock of seeing him in my house, the shock of the memory, which almost seemed like it had been somehow swept away in my mind, was frightening to me.

"Here, you should put the jacket on, so you won't be cold." He held it out to me, but I wouldn't take it.

Finally I said, "So you're fae. That was what was wrong. You were fae and trying to pretend to be a Were. That's why your thoughts felt so odd."

He drew the jacket back. "My thoughts? What about my thoughts?"

I reached out with my mind and felt the smooth, thick texture of his thoughts. It was hard to find a way into them. What I got from him were mostly feelings not clear thoughts. He felt bad, bad for me, bad about what he had done.

I walked away from him and leaned against the wall, back in the shadows. I shivered. I was only wearing my Merlotte's t-shirt and my slacks. I was still barefoot.

"You're cold. Take the jacket and let me get you something for your feet."

"Who are you? Who are you really? Who sent you to my house at Christmas?"

"My name really is Preston Pardloe. I'm really a fairy. I change shape easily." He held out a hand, which shifted into a paw something like a wolf's paw and then rapidly back again, as if to remind me.

"Who sent you to my house in December?" I repeated. Was it like a reconnaissance mission, I wondered. I still couldn't believe that I had taken him in, allowed him to stay, protected him, or so I thought, and that I had slept with him.

He stepped closer, reached out and picked up my hand, put the jacket in it and closed my fingers over it. Then he stepped back and looked me in the eyes.

"Niall Brigant sent me to you. I didn't know he was your grandfather. Or your great-grandfather or whatever it is. I didn't know until Dermot told me a short time ago."

"Niall? Why did he send you? Why?"

"He said that you were lonely. He meant it as a gift or some such thing. The intent was not bad. I mean you no harm. I meant you no harm then. I enjoyed you. I was sent to please you."

I thought back on all my reservations about taking him into my house, about how odd he seemed for a Were, about how his transformation seemed unnatural compared to that of every Were that I had ever seen. Every single step, after the moment I found him and got him to my porch, seemed to be against my better judgment. Inviting him in, on forward through the night. I kept trying to see what I was doing as unsafe and something redirected me time and time again. I couldn't fathom it. And then, when my grandfather showed up, after the man had disappeared on Christmas morning, it was as if the details all got blurred a bit, pushed aside, lost somehow in my mind. Until I saw him again in my room only a few short hours ago.

"You used magic," I gasped in understanding at last. "You used magic on me. It was all just magic…"

"A bit. A bit of glamour." He nodded, grimacing.

_A_ _bit_? I said to myself. If that's 'a bit', I'm in _serious_ trouble. How could I _not_ be susceptible to vampire glamour and yet fall victim to some fae glamour? Was it so much more powerful? I had to try to be more alert to the slow sensation of anything overriding my thoughts, my judgment, my clarity. At least I had a sense of what it had felt like. Staying sharp and not getting glammed was going to be my only chance of getting away from them, I thought to myself. And the thought that he had been with me, sent to _seduce_ me, at Niall's behest? I simply couldn't wrap my head around that one right now. I couldn't believe that my great-grandfather would have done such a thing. But something in his explanation had the ring of truth. I would deal with that later, when I was free of them all. My focus right now was that I had to get away, there had to be a way to get away.

"Where are we?"

"We're in Dermot's house."

"Where is Dermot's house? Are we still in the Shreveport area?"

"We're in Little Rock," he said softly, glancing back toward the door up into the house.

Arkansas!? "What does Dermot want from me? He's my great uncle. What could he possibly want from me? Does Niall know I'm here?"

Preston looked at me like he pitied me. "Sookie," he again glanced back up at the door, "Niall and Dermot don't get along. In fact, I guess you could say they work against one another."

"Then what does he want with me, Preston?"

"He is giving you to someone by the name of Dieter." He looked away as he said the name. I felt a chill run up my spine. "He is a rival of your grandfather's. I didn't know that was the plan, either."

I swallowed and tried not to gasp. "_Giving_ _me_? What do you me by giving me? Can you help me get away? How can I get away?"

"I'm not sure. Look, I need to go back up. I… I'm sorry. I know that's inadequate to say, but I'm so sorry. I _will_ try to help you. As soon as my sister is safe, I will try to help you however I can. I give you my word. I'll go to Niall and I'll help you." With that, he turned and went back up the stairs.

I put on the jacket and opened the blanket partly and sat on the floor with it over my feet. I tried to breathe and find something to be calm about but there was nothing, simply nothing that I could find hope in. I had been kidnapped by my great uncle. He was planning to give me to my great-grandfather's enemy. I was not even in Louisiana. No one knew I was missing. It was the middle of the day so no vampires were going to help. I truly felt panic. I had been in fights, I had been in dangerous situations, but never, really truly, on my own. I had always had Bill or Eric or Sam or Claudine, protecting me. And now, I was _totally_ alone. I suddenly felt an appreciation for everything that Eric, Pam, Niall, Sam, Claudine and even Bill had tried to tell me. I was just a human. Very frail, mortal, breakable and short-lived. Just as my great-grandfather had told me months before. I really couldn't protect myself. I had been every bit as stupid and naïve as Pam had implied I was. But even they could not protect me from the Fae, I thought. Who could have prevented them from taking me out of my own house in broad daylight? It was so frightening to know that ultimately, I was so defenseless.

And what did this Dieter want with me? I was very afraid when I thought of how Preston had been afraid to look at me when saying the name. I had to find out more about this Dieter. The only one I had any hope of reading significantly was Dermot. His thought signature had given his presence away before I could even see him in my room. It must be because he is only half-Fae, I thought to myself. He is different from the others. I kept sensing him, there in the corner, even though he had managed to conceal himself. Him, I can probably read, I thought. I have to get to see more of him, to figure out how to deal with this, figure out how to get away.

I stared off into the darkness of the basement room and gave into thinking about the question that was really foremost in my mind. Could Eric find me when he wakes up? And to him, would I be worth getting into a fight with the Fae? Fighting with them could start a war. No matter how much Eric loved me, there were more things at stake than just protecting his human. The broader implications of such a choice were just too much for me. I broke down and started crying.


	5. Chapter 5

**V.**

Sookie's house had become a base of operations. Sam had gotten Tray and Terry to run the bar for the night. Pam was on her way to get further instructions. Claude and Claudine were trying to gather information from various contacts. Amelia had contacted Octavia, who was rushing back from New Orleans in the middle of the night. Niall's chief concern was that even if they could locate Sookie, the vampires might be unable to recover her because of the magic wielded by whatever Fae faction had her. The risks of his people working directly with vampires was obvious. Even the question of exactly who had her was complex issue. There were a number of potential groups with a bone to pick against Niall.

The Fae were a highly secretive race. Older than vampires, they were the only supernatural race with power comparable to the vampires. With often similar physical strength, their magic had frequently tipped the balance in their favor in numerous battles against the vampires over many centuries. Yet, though they were widely disseminated across North America, Europe and Asia, with little encroachment on territory, the battles within various Fae factions were deep and bitter. Their numbers had dwindled steadily, partly due to losses in battle, partly due to losses because of infighting, and because of intermarriage with the part-fae offspring that lived among them. Dilution of Fae bloodstock, like the attrition which was steadily occurring among the were/Were populations, was reducing the magical abilities of the Fae, diminishing their advantage and supremacy over the vampires.

Niall's position as a Prince was bitterly opposed by several factions. The single most common point used to assail his position was his involvement as a principal in a Japanese pharmaceutical company. While the Fae numbers dwindled, vampire numbers were on the rise, especially after the Great Revelation. And the Japanese company with which Niall was involved was none other than the one that had begun producing True Blood some seven and a half years before. This fact had led to a steady increase in dissident voices among the Fae, who found their Prince's involvement in the production of a foodstuff that allowed vampires unprecedented openness and freedom to be unconscionable. While True Blood had assured that vampires could live openly among humans, they still posed a grave threat to the Fae in many eyes. No synthetic product capable of matching the intoxicating power of Fae blood had been isolated. Thus the risk to the Fae, of vampires living openly, was perhaps greater than at any point in the history of the two races. Fear of discovery by humans had always been a factor limiting the vampires' boldness, constraining their battles with the Fae to remote or rural regions. Now it would seem that anything was possible because the vampires were out in the open and gaining acceptance, while the Fae were still a hidden race.

The real question that needed an immediate answer was with whom had Dermot aligned himself this time, against his own father? For it was not the first time that he had sought to fight his father, with whom he had had a tenuous relationship at best. Dermot and Fintan had resented their more limited power, and the perception that they were weak, troublemakers, and second-class citizens because of their half-Fae heritage. Dermot in particular had a black reputation in Europe among both the Fae and vampires, for many centuries. He was the unpredictable element in all things that included Niall Brigant. He had been a thorn in Niall's side for centuries.

Niall had resisted doing anything violent to Eric because he realized Eric was the best chance of getting his great-granddaughter back without having to engage in an all out war with her captor. There were things he suspected about where she was, but he was cautious about discussing them while he mulled over his options. He had struggled to contain his rage, to focus on _the opportunity_. Played right, he could have his great-grandchild back and eliminate one of his oldest enemies in one fell swoop. All with minimal involvement. In misfortune, he would find gain. Eric and his group could do the work of it all for him, he thought shrewdly. He looked at Eric coldly, while assessing the fact that the mutual attachment between his great-granddaughter and the vampire appeared, in fact, to be much stronger than he had realized. Perhaps he had caught them at some peculiar arc in their relationship when he had first seen them together. Because certainly, the vampire's attachment to her was highly peculiar among his kind. Even the fact that they were bonded, in these times, and in this seeming manner, was peculiar. He had discerned that she was not easily controlled or glamoured. So there could be only one conclusion as to the nature of their bond. It was odd, but provided the advantage that would serve the situation well. He wished the child safe and his enemy dead. Eric would most certainly be the means to achieving both ends. He had proven reliable in the past, and dead or not, he had the sense of honor required by the task. He had been born and turned to fight, and fight he would. He would fight to get her back, and in the process defeat one of his, and Niall's, greatest foes. This was a plan the fairy could not only live with, but enjoy. He would have to orchestrate things carefully.

**

* * *

  
**

Calmer now, by 2 am in the morning, Eric finally sat down at the kitchen table, across from Niall. They had achieved a kind of tentative truce. He spread out his hands flat on the surface and then began to drum his fingers on the tabletop as he looked over at Niall. Bill paced in the living room, while Sam leaned against the wall separating the kitchen from the dining room.

"Any ideas, Niall? Do share." Eric asked coldly with an eyebrow raised.

Niall was cautious. There were many present who he did not think needed to be present within earshot of this conversation.

"The thought of using a hostage, to attempt to coerce me, would be more in Dieter's style," he said to Eric carefully, in a low tone of voice.

Eric nodded thoughtfully. "Dieter… It _would_ be like Dieter. He loves to have someone to torment his opponent with. But what would Dieter be doing here in the States?"

Niall gestured sweepingly with his hands "_I _am here… There are many of my family _here_."

"If Dieter wanted to move against you on his own, he would do it from his own base. He would not come here to yours. It would be too hard to marshal adequate forces from Europe here. There has to be more to it than that, Niall. You know more and you are not keeping your word. You are not frank. Why would Dieter come here to fight you? If Dieter is here, it is for some other purpose."

"I know only of rumors, Eric. We need to be very sure of what we know before we make any attempt to recover her. We must wait for Claude and Claudine to tell us what they have learned."

At that moment, they were surprised by an arrival at the house. Calvin Norris knocked and was ushered in to the living room by Bill Compton.

After nodding politely to Bill, he said "Is Sam Merlotte here? Tray Dawson told me he was here."

Sam walked out of the kitchen and was followed by Eric. Niall lingered behind in the kitchen, wishing to remain unseen.

"Sam, Mr. Northman," Calvin nodded to Eric and then to Sam. He took in the situation and measured his words with care.

"Sam, I came to tell you that earlier tonight I was approached by a were about joining a cause which I find I cannot support. But in talking to him, I have heard that Sookie is somehow involved. And I have concerns about her welfare."

Eric pressed forward to tower over Calvin. "What cause, and how is Sookie involved?"

Calvin weighed things further. He was not comfortable with telling the vampire. But in his mind, clearly right was right. Perhaps it was the only route to helping her. "A werelynx out of Magnolia, Arkansas came here recruiting fighters for a war. A war that would combine forces between the Fae and the were/Were population. I declined participation of my pack's panthers, claiming our low numbers. But he happened to mention to me that 'that telepath' I knew from Bon Temps was there in a compound, in Magnolia. That she was with them."

Eric stiffened and his eyes seemed to burn into Calvin's as he asked "What war? What is the object of this war?" He could already foresee the answer. Fucking Niall, not telling it straight…

"I am assuming that my group will be exempt from any retribution? We have refused participation. We must have impunity if I discuss this with you further," said Calvin firmly.

"Granted. No one from Area 5 will act against you or yours as a result of the information you provide. The grant of your protection will be conveyed to others."

"Well," said Calvin slowly, "my understanding is that there is a force of Fae and shifters of all kinds amassing in Arkansas to fight vampires. It is an action in Louisiana and Arkansas and that it is linked to some celebration of the vampire king in his home base in Nevada in a week's time. While that goes on, the battle will be waged here, and then further battles are to be waged on the basis of the gains here."

Sam looked at Calvin and said, "Did you get a name of the organizer, Calvin?"

Calvin shook his head. "No, the lynx just told me he was some German fairy."

Eric closed his eyes and looked up toward the ceiling shaking his head, then looked down at Calvin. "Magnolia, you said?"

Calvin nodded.

"And the lynx knew Sookie was there? For certain, she _was_ there?" Eric asked.

Calvin nodded again and looked sober. "That was what made me come look for you Sam. He said he'd seen Sookie. He said she was…" he hesitated here, looking up at Eric as if finally starting to grasp something he had previously missed, "he said she was kind of banged up… She was bruised. The lynx mentioned it because he knew she was a friend of my pack and I think he mistakenly thought that she had come by the misadventure because of … excuse me for saying it, vampires. But I knew that was unlikely because it was my understanding from Sam that she is under your protection here in this Area." Here he nodded at Eric. "Which made me think it was the other way around. That maybe the Fae or the Weres had got after her for being too close to the vampire camp."

"Thank you, Calvin," said Sam. "Thank you for coming to look for me. We've been very worried about her. I think, if you don't mind my meddling with your business, that you might want to lie low for a while. Maybe go visiting that cousin of yours over in Mississippi?"

Calvin looked from Sam, to Eric and over to Bill. "So she's really in trouble then?"

Sam just frowned and nodded soberly.

"Well, I'll send all the girls over to stay with Martin, but if you want help, you call me. I'll lie low until you're ready. Does Jason know about this?"

Eric leaned forward and said, "Thank you but, no. And do not discuss this with Jason. Your entire pack should leave the area immediately. Sam's advice is good advice. I would strongly suggest that you leave tonight, especially in case you have been followed here. Tell your entire pack that they should clear out for a while. Mississippi or Texas. Not Louisiana or Arkansas."

Calvin nodded solemnly and said good night, then quickly left.

So Niall had known that Dieter was planning a war against vampires, Eric thought to himself. Had Sookie not been taken, he wondered, what Niall would have done about it? Clearly she had been snatched to assure Niall's cooperation, or even his participation. The twisted word of a fairy, he said to himself…

Eric turned toward the kitchen. Niall was now in the doorway. Before Eric could even make a move toward him, Niall said,

"So then the rumors are true. It is Dieter, and he is here to start a war with the help of the Weres and weres. I had not believed he would be so bold as to move in such a fashion. Before you even start again, _I agree_ that he must be stopped."

Eric said, "They will have had her for 36 hours by tomorrow night, Niall. And they are already mistreating her. This will not be your operation. It will be mine. She is under our protection, under the protection of my King, and they plan an attack on our State. You can cooperate, but they will be ours. And I am sure this is exactly what you wanted out of the situation, right?"

Niall nodded silently. This was an ideal solution, to be sure.

"Don't think this means my plans have changed from what I told you before. If they harm her…"

Niall put up his hands and nodded, as if to say that he remembered quite clearly what Eric's plans were in the event Sookie came to grave harm.

At that moment, Pam strode into the house with Clancy, Maxwell and Thalia. Eric gestured to them that they were to stand back from Niall, then looked at her companions and said,

"Who the hell is left closing the club, Pam?"

"Felicia and Indira are closing. We have come to see what you know and what the plan is."

Eric briefly went through the information they had just received from Calvin. Thalia shook her head with distaste, murmuring curses under her breath. He looked at her with some surprise.

"Do you know him, Thalia?" Eric asked, surprised.

"Of course. How could we have lived in Europe and be our age and not know Dieter, Eric? _Everyone_ knows Dieter. It is with great pleasure that I will help you kill him to recover Sookie and stop a war. Whatever you plan, I am in. I want to see the light drain from his eyes. I will avenge the death of my child, whom he claimed in the battle of 1720 outside the walls of Prague."

Pam looked incredulous. Thalia never wanted to do anything. She hated everything. But evidently, she hated Dieter _more_. This was the most alacrity any of them had ever seen her show for anything.

Eric said, "I can see you're as fond of him as I am, Thalia. Good. The thing we have to decide is how much we reveal to the Felipe's people right now. If we inform them, we will have delays. If we do not, and things go badly, it may appear as if we went rogue and started a war over a human. For this reason, we will go with a limited group. Everyone volunteering needs to be clear as to the personal and political risk. The rest of you will remain here, working at the club, as if you knew nothing."

Bill said quickly, "I'm in, of course."

Maxwell chimed in "I haven't had a good fight in far too long."

Eric nodded to Bill, Maxwell and Thalia, then said, "I can see if Rasul will come. He's in Baton Rouge and has helped me before. He's always liked Sookie and he loves a good adventure. I have several contacts in Arkansas. Depending on what Niall finds out about their numbers, at least half a dozen of us will go."

Pam interjected, "Well, Indira, Felicia and I are all going, too. We decided earlier. Since Clancy is still recovering his full strength from Hallow's crew's draining him he's staying and covering the club, to answer any questions later." Clancy nodded to confirm this point.

Eric looked at Pam. "No, you're staying at the club. You and the others."

Pam looked at him and said coolly, in a low and non-confrontational voice, "I swore to protect her too, Eric. We all did. I have already told you that if she comes to harm, I'll quit. So if I have to quit to fight, I will. And so will Felicia and Indira." In a clearer tone she said firmly, "We're in. The greater our number the more likely we are to have success. But we need to know from you and Thalia exactly how they fight and what to expect. Most of us have never seen the Fae fight. We know they are strong, but what do they do?" At this Eric and Thalia turned to each other soberly. Dieter was not likely to have untrained amateurs on his side.

Amelia had been listening off in the shadows to the whole thing, while lying on the couch. Now she sat up and said, brightly,

"I have an idea. An idea to level the field." She looked over at Niall, who looked old, tired, and whose cheek had not healed much since earlier in the evening. He already stood listening to vampires make their plans for the undoing of some of his kind. He probably would not like this idea one bit she thought to herself. But it was a way to increase their chances of averting an all out war.


	6. Chapter 6

**VI.**

The door opened and a light was turned on. Dermot came down into the basement with Preston and told me we were leaving. Preston handed me a pair of thick socks, which I put on slowly. I acted sleepy and tried to stall for time in order to read Dermot. He was happy, happy that things were going smoothly and that he had outwitted his father. He looked at me as if I was pathetic, made disparaging mental comments about how slow I was, that I wasn't attractive enough to have any fae blood at all. He could hardly believe that I was Fintan's granddaughter. I tried wading through the morass of his mind. Where were we going, how were we getting there? I got nothing from his mind on that. I tried to stall further.

"Uncle Dermot, can you tell me anything about my grandfather, about Fintan? Anything at all? Niall won't tell me anything."

He turned to me and looked down on me in more ways than one. "He's dead," he spat at me. He then nodded to Preston to indicate that I was to come upstairs and he climbed the stairs to depart.

Well, clearly my great uncle is just the gem of the family, I thought to myself. As he headed upstairs I caught the name from his mind, Dieter. And images. Frightening images, of dark things.

When we got upstairs I was surprised to see just a regular house. Preston suggested to Dermot that they should give me something to eat. It was very late afternoon, maybe an hour or forty-five minutes before sunset, I could see. I had not eaten the entire day and the only thing I'd had to drink was half a cup of coffee in the morning.

"Let her go hungry. She will be more cooperative hungry. Dieter will be pleased if it is easier to control her," Dermot replied.

Nice, I thought. I asked to use the bathroom. At first he didn't even want me to do that and then I pointed out that I wouldn't be smelling too nice for Dieter if they didn't let me. When I washed my hands I got several handfuls of water to slake my thirst. When I came out, they surrounded me and again, I was whisked away by magic to some other place.

**

* * *

  
**

I remembered how Sam had commented on meeting my great-grandfather and shaking his hand, that he felt that Niall was scary. My great-grandfather was a kindly man compared to Dieter Jaeger. Dieter was as tall as Eric and dark. Very dark. In more ways than one. Dark hair, dark eyes and if it was possible, in contrast to the bright whiteness of my great-grandfather, he gave off _dark_ light. He was in every sense a brutal entity. I could not even consider him a man. He was too malevolent to grant him that, to endow him with some sense of humanity. When I first met my great-grandfather that he had told me "Dear one, we are all beautiful to humans, but some fairies are very nasty indeed." I wondered why he hadn't just mentioned Dieter by name.

When Dermot brought me in, as his special gift to him, Dieter was busy burning someone. With magic. He burned a man, who I thought was a were, to death right before our eyes. We entered the room to see the screaming man. An equally large female fairy off in the shadows cackled at the screams. Dieter kicked the ashy corpse and signaled to someone to remove the refuse. I felt, in looking at the scene, as if I had descended into Hell. I was almost numb with terror.

Dieter acknowledged Dermot and then walked around me. Something about him commanded so much of my attention that I hadn't even taken the time to glance around the room we were in, to take in my surroundings. He was all you could focus on, all encompassing. He grabbed me by the back of my neck and stared down into my eyes. I felt an ice cold mist push into me, into my mind. I lurched internally and tried to resist. He was just overwhelming. I had never felt anything like it. He let go of me roughly, pushing me back as he released my neck, so that I stumbled.

"She is bound to someone. Strongly bound, by choice." He spoke with a German accent.

A familiar voice replied, "She's bound to Eric Northman, the Area 5 Sheriff."

I gasped as I looked across the room to see John Quinn emerge through a doorway.

Dieter looked at me and said, "Northman? The Viking? This is a problem. The bond is very strong. He would find her in no time and that will diminish our advantage." He seemed to be considering his options and it was very clear that one option was to simply get rid of me because I wasn't worth the trouble.

He looked at Dermot, as if surprised he was still there, and then waved him off, as if to say 'get out'. Dermot looked over at me rather darkly, as if I hadn't been worth the trouble to him, either. Delivering me had not brought him the regard for which he had hoped. I was, evidently, vampire-damaged goods. As he started to leave he had some sort of encounter, with the female fairy, which left him scurrying from the room. It looked as if fire emanated from her fingertips. What had he delivered me to, I wondered…

Dieter walked around me again, thinking. Then he grabbed me roughly and towering over me whispered something that was like a sledgehammer hitting the anvil of my brain. I tried to resist him but it was almost painful. No, it _was_ painful. In an excruciatingly slow and increasingly painful process, I felt almost as if he was at once smothering something inside me and yet pulling things out of me. Like my entrails or something. I felt like something was being rent inside me and the pain became almost unbearable and I cried out. I resisted him as much as I could but it was taking immense effort. I could hardly breathe and felt as if I would pass out.

"Vampirdirne. Hure." Dieter said, like he was cursing at me in what I guessed was German. He slapped me across my face and then grabbed my throat as I swayed back into an upright posture. I tasted blood in my mouth as he stared down at me with his black eyes. "This bond is so fucking strong. It might be better to just get rid of her. If she is so bound to him, who knows if Niall will even care if we threaten to kill her. Why would he want her if she is bound to a vampire? He is grown weak and stupid if he is attached to _this._" He released me again, roughly pushing me away by my throat, which was left sore from his grasp.

"You could use her as bait to trap Northman. Just because he's supposed to be in Vegas doesn't mean you're not going to end up having to fight against him eventually. You could get him out of the way now. He seems quite attached to her." Quinn's voice was so level and even as he suggested this.

I looked at Quinn with horror. He did not even look at me and his manner was cold and indifferent. Still trying to kill off Eric, I thought to myself. I should have told Eric, should have warned him of Quinn's offer to me. I should have told him about Andre. I should have told Eric so many damn things that I didn't. My head throbbed every time I even thought of him. What had Dieter done to me, I wondered? I felt cold all around my heart and mind. Numbness and thickness filled me, as if I was wading through molasses to even think about anything relating to Eric. I was sure I'd been glamoured, but I had the sense that it wasn't complete because it hurt when I actually did manage to muster thoughts of Eric. That I could still even get there at all was at least something. It was like pushing into a wall, hoping to move it. Perhaps it would just take work to fight the glamour. But I certainly didn't want Eric to come trying to rescue me if their plan was to trap him and kill him… Perhaps Dieter's damaging the bond, if that's what he had done, was safer. It might make it harder for Eric to find me and therefore safer for him. But maybe my great-grandfather could find me? Could he deal with this Dieter on something like equal footing, I wondered?

And the whole business of Quinn, here with Dieter? The mention of Vegas… Realization dawned on me. The weres and the Fae. My enemy's enemy is my friend. Quinn really hated vampires. So the Fae and weres were allied. In one week's time all the Sheriffs of both states would be in Nevada at Felipe's celebration. Without leadership, a battle with the vampires of the two states would be a snap. So many of the vampires left running things would be too young to even begin to know how to fight the Fae, I surmised. Between their magic, their strength and the resilience of the various weres as foot soldiers, it could be a literal bloodbath for the vampires. Plus the vampires could not defend themselves in the day. The Fae could gain a significant victory in the first battle of a war. Louisiana, a known vampire stronghold, was a perfect place to start because its King lived far away from the state now.

Dieter smiled at Quinn's suggestion of trapping Eric and looked at me and laughed in a manner that was truly malevolent.

"I have smothered the bond, but let us see if we can draw them, yes. I'll make sure we parade her around. Someone will surely talk about it. Let us see if we can lure them both. Niall and the Viking. Would the vampire be so foolish as to fight over a human? You say she is a telepath?" He tried to grab me again but I ducked away from his grasp.

"Don't you touch me again" I hissed at him.

"She is, and they have used her extensively at their most recent summit" said Quinn.

But Dieter was ignoring him now. "Don't touch you? Really?" And suddenly without his laying a hand on me, I was slammed into the wall. I cried out and slumped to the floor, my head and back stinging from the blow against the wall. "Which do you prefer?" he said as he towered over me. He grabbed my arm and yanked me back to my feet and then backhanded me so that I fell yet again. "Magic, or the warmth of a hand striking you? The warm, personal touch offers so much more, do you not agree?"

I spit blood out of my mouth and looked away from him, trembling. I was getting vile feelings from him, as if I was reading him and I was increasingly fearful of just how horrible things could get.

"Get her out of here, Helga. Clean her up and then bring her back and sit her over there," he said to the tall, blonde female fairy, who was now near the door. He had pointed to a chair against the wall, behind a table on which a map of the state of Louisiana was spread.

The huge female fairy grabbed me, half lifting me, and walked me past Quinn. I sluggishly read from him some jagged thoughts of thinking that he could get Dieter to give me to him when they were done, but his thoughts were not… kind. We had broken badly and I had left him, in his mind, for a vampire he hated and with whom he now thought I had betrayed him in Rhodes. He thought Dieter would help him kill Eric and then…

From what I felt in Dieter, he was not planning to give me away to anyone. No he had worse plans in store for me. I trembled inwardly. What a bad end, I thought to myself. I had never envisioned how I might die. Right now, I was thinking it was a real possibility in the very near future. I didn't want to give up hope. But the more pragmatic side of my nature, which had grown exponentially in the past two years, told me that my survival odds were rapidly diminishing. There was no way I could escape someone like Dieter. Few people could. Look at what he had done to that were, I thought. And he enjoyed it. He enjoyed killing. He took pleasure in hurting people. It would be insanity for anyone to try to rescue me…

The female fairy gave me a shove into a bathroom and handed me a change of clothes, since my shirt was now spattered with my blood. I looked into the mirror. I was bruised all around my throat and on my cheeks. I was swollen around one of my eyes, too. It didn't look as bad as it might, I guess because I had had Eric's blood the night before. But it still hurt. As I looked at my reflection all I could think about was Eric, even though it hurt whenever my mind strayed there. Hours ago all I wanted was for him to find me and rescue me. Now I was afraid he would try. That both he and Pam would try to fulfill the terms of Felipe's protection of me. But I knew it was more that just that to them. I saw Eric's eyes in my mind. Even though it hurt in more ways than one, Eric's words echoed in my memory. "I love you, Sookie. You're mine and I love you."

No, I thought to myself. Just don't. Don't try to save me. Save _yourself_. It's what I want. It's what you want for those you love. Let me go...


	7. Chapter 7

**VII.**

Mel Hart, a lone werepanther from the Hotshot pack who lived outside of Hotshot, and a good friend of Jason Stackhouse, had been found dead, mutilated and tossed up on the entryway of Merlotte's in the morning when Sam went to open. It was a clear, if gruesome message. After a very weary Sam had talked to Bud Dearborn and Andy Bellefleur, he sat drinking a beer at 11 am and trying to decide whether Tray Dawson could be trusted. Amelia came in and sat down with Sam and Tray. She and Sam were weary. She was meeting with the head of the Shreveport coven at the bar in less than half an hour.

Tray finally broke the silence. "I had heard, if that's what you're wondering. I heard about it yesterday night, but obviously don't have to follow any packleader decision in the matter. I know that Calvin has pulled up and left town. I can tell you that I don't know what Alcide is going to do but I will not join them if they fight. Even if I risk ending up like Mel, I won't join them."

Sam nodded. "I would like to ask you if you could help Terry run the bar for a few days again. I'm sorry to impose on you further and you won't have Sookie to help right now. But I'll compensate you well for it."

Tray looked at Amelia and nodded as he looked back at Sam.

"If I'm here, and visible, it will make it obvious that I'm not involved. If they lose, it's safer for me. For my companions. The vampires aren't exactly prone to forgiveness. I'd rather take my chances that they will come out on top."

Amelia smiled. Tray was a good man. Her man.

"Did Calvin get to Mississippi okay?" Sam asked.

Tray nodded. "Jason and Crystal were the last out. Jason tried to get Mel to go with him this morning at about 4 am, but he never showed. I guess we can see why. They're lucky they got away."

Sam looked thoughtful. We'll be lucky if we all get out of this alive, he thought to himself wearily. Sookie most of all. Caught between those two powerful factions. And to think that he had thought the big risk to her was from the vampires. Ironically, he now thought they were likely her best chance for survival.

**

* * *

  
**

Preston Pardloe looked drawn and fearful. He stood before his Prince, cowering, not looking up. It was just after sunset and the four vampires who had just shown up from some nearby house, and the two other fairies present, all looked at him as if he would pay. As soon as he was free of the compound, and knew his sister was safe, he had sought out Niall. And now he was sure he was going to be killed by vampires if his Prince didn't do it first.

"You will tell us everything you know, everything you saw," intoned Niall, placing his hand on Preston's shoulder firmly. Pardloe looked up at Niall, wondering if the chance for redemption was a real one. He would take it.

"I give you my word that everything I will tell you is true," said Preston meeting Niall's eyes. He was determined to redeem himself in his Prince's eyes, and rescue the poor human, who was little more than a pawn. He had thought her sweet and delightful. He had deceived her at his Prince's behest but now he questioned what he had done even in that. He questioned all of it. Living in the human world, he thought to himself, makes you question our priorities.

Preston confirmed all aspects of Calvin Norris's information, providing the additional fact that the weres and Weres were being organized by one John Quinn, a weretiger from Memphis, who seemed to hold a grudge against vampires in general, but also seemingly against Sookie. He painfully reported that she was not in good shape, was glamoured, had been beaten but that he didn't think she had been raped by Dieter.

Given his usual predilections, that point was rather remarkable thought Eric, steeling himself as he thought about it. Perhaps the intensity of their bond, so recently renewed, was enough to offend Dieter's sensibilities. It was so fortunate that she initiated the second exchange, completed by his drawing from her neck, thought Eric. Initiated by her own choice at, he noted with a wan smile, the first opportunity she had really allowed herself with him. She had converted the bond, which had been forced on them, into something else entirely. Her commitment to him, whether she was ready to understand it wholly or not. Her choice, even if she didn't seem to see that she was making one. It might take her time to see it but she always took time. And when she goes for things, it's always in a big way, he reflected. Our bond must now be packing quite a punch, he thought to himself. His mark was now all over her, coursing through her blood and her mind. Even if Dieter was trying to keep it under wraps, he knew it was there. Dieter really hated vampires and hated him specifically, as a cunning opponent he had not been able to defeat a number of times. Hopefully, it would be enough to make him stay away from her, but not enough to make him want to just kill her outright. Such a fine line… He wondered what Quinn was doing to keep Dieter away from her. Surely Quinn could see what Dieter was like. Whatever protection Quinn offered her was fine. The worst he could do to her was better than the least Dieter would do.

Preston drew a map of the compound, and detailed the room that Dieter was using to discuss business. They discussed all of their pooled information, about the compound and Dieter's actions that had been accumulated in the past day, and the conclusion was simple.

"Well, it's obviously a trap," said Eric, looking over at Niall. "The fact that they were showing her off, throwing the panther on Sam's doorstep. It might as well be an engraved invitation. And knowing Dieter, he knows that I'll know it's a trap. But he also knows I'll go anyway," he said with a grim smile.

Thalia had been quiet until this point. "How much does this witch think they can limit the magic and over what timeframe? Because it's the crucial point. We may have strength in numbers to take many out, but Dieter… Dieter and that Helga bitch, they'll just burn us to death with their fire tricks. We need to take out their magic slowly ahead of time, so that they don't _know_ we're doing it. If we show up and the witches just start chanting, it's never going to work. We'll all be dead within twenty minutes. We need time to have worn down their energy quietly, without provoking their attention. And maybe we can thin their ranks by getting some of them to come out with diversions."

Bill and Pam turned to Eric, who nodded. They both clearly didn't much like the sound of 'fire tricks'. Eric, meanwhile, was beginning to think that Thalia was much more experienced in fighting than he had ever previously considered. Being in a tourist bar was probably the last thing on her list of interests if she had fought against the likes of Dieter's people in the past. And she was right. They would need to work slowly and carefully to diminish the magical energy available, for Dieter and Helga especially.

Niall finally spoke up. "We will work in tandem with the witches. I will create a dampening field to allow them to enter early, undetected. We will instruct them. There are seventeen, correct? I will match one fairy per witch and we will transport them to positions around the compound and they will begin earlier, to start attenuating the available energy. It can be done slowly and subtly. But we must have Claudine and Claude held exempt. That way we can have them remove Sookie so whatever else plays out, she will be protected. All my people must be out before the vampires exit the building. I will not have you feeding, in some frenzy, on people that helped you wipe out this plot. We will not participate directly in the fighting. I will personally try to shield you, Eric. I can make you immune to Dieter's fire, his best weapon. There are other tricks that can be brought to bear on them. If you can take him out, the others will fall. Even Helga."

Amelia and Octavia were already working outside with a group of witches on setting up the spells that they would use. They were counting on at least fifteen witches from the Shreveport coven that had regrouped after Hallow's death.

Maxwell, Indira and Felicia entered the house carrying stacks of pike length iron rods with sharpened tips that made the four fairies wince at the sight of them. Not far behind them, Rasul strode through the door. He had driven up from Baton Rouge, where he was the Sheriff's second, after making excuses about taking a short trip. He had seen the Fae fight four hundred years before as they drove the Moors back from the north coast of Spain. He knew what to expect. Eric had also selected a group of older vampires from Arkansas who were awaiting word as to where and when to meet. It was an awkward moment, with the Fae on one side of the room and outnumbering them two to one, the vampires on the other. Eric glanced over at the Fae contingent and nodded, indicating that he would keep his people in check. Then he indicated that everyone needed to stay focused on the business at hand, which was Preston's map of the compound.

Shortly before 9:00 pm, when they were all starting to prepare for their journey over the state line, Alcide Herveaux knocked on the door and entered the house. He looked at the assembled group of Fae, witches, a shifter and the vampires crowded into the house and was obviously rather taken aback.

"Eric, I have come to talk to you. To talk to you about Sookie, who as you know, is a friend to my pack."

"Now is not exactly a good time Herveaux. In fact, your presence here might be considered problematic," said Eric coldly. There was no point in playing games. His sentiment, that the Were might be a spy, was pretty much shared by everyone in the room, with even Sam looking askance at Alcide's unexpected arrival.

"Before we start, let me say that my pack is standing down. I am offering to help. I have heard that they have Sookie and I have been led to believe that she is in danger."

"Well, you'd really think that Dieter hired a publicist to advertise the fact he has her," quipped Eric sarcastically to Pam. "And how would you be helping Herveaux?"

"I don't know what you need, but since they are anticipating that many Were packs will join them, we could take several pack members up there under the guise of committing to them and be useful inside. Or I could go alone to aide you. We could create a diversion if you needed to buy time. You can tell me what you need."

Bill immediately interjected "And the reason we would trust you would be what, Herveaux?" He'd detested Alcide since his Jackson rescue.

Alcide reiterated "Sookie is a friend of my pack. To allow her to come to harm would bring dishonor on all of us. We may not agree with the breadth of her alliances, but she has been a good friend to us. We're not able to join in an action that could bring her harm."

All the vampires looked at him as if they didn't quite believe him.

Pam remarked, shaking her head, "It is ironic that this is really one of those times when we could seriously use a telepath."

Eric studied him. He was either incredibly brave to show up as a spy in the midst of this group or he was at least partially sincere. He was not in the habit of thinking of Weres as brave. They are reckless and drawn to fight. But not this reckless. He is likely sincere in his commitment to protect a friend of the pack, he thought to himself, even if he would likely be fighting if Sookie wasn't involved. This could be a useful alliance, if carefully constructed.

"What do you know about the encampment?" Eric asked Alcide.

"I know it's in Magnolia. I know that packleaders are to report to Quinn, who is heading the were contingent. I know that Parsons, packmaster out of Monroe, was there yesterday and saw Sookie sitting in a room with all of the planning team and that she's been beaten up. I know that Quinn is expecting me to show up tonight with my numbers. So I'm offering to help to get her out of there. What the rest of you do once she's out is your business. I will not involve my pack in the fighting for either side. My only role is to fulfill my commitment to protect Sookie."

Eric looked at him and said "You realize that if you're working for them that we'll kill you, right? You and your entire pack. You do grasp that, I hope?"

Alcide chuckled and said, "It had actually struck me, yes, Eric. I _had_ taken that into account. Walking into this group if I was really working for Quinn wouldn't appear to be a very shrewd choice."

"Then your assistance would be useful. Niall, go ahead with your plans with Amelia's group. We'll discuss things with Herveaux separately. I will be in touch." There was no need for Alcide to know that they had a plan to weaken the magical energy of Dieter's group. If he was on their side, that information would not be necessary for him to have. If he wasn't, it would undermine everything.

Niall, Claudine, Claude and Preston moved toward Amelia, Octavia and more than a dozen witches gathered on the porch.

"Pardloe. You stay," said Eric.

Preston turned slowly to Eric and the other vampires. Niall looked at Eric for a moment and then nodded, indicating that Claudine and Claude should keep going with him.

"Packmaster Herveaux, I'd like you to meet a very talented recruit. He'll be one of your wolves. And his job is to keep you on the straight and narrow. Pardloe, this is your chance. If Herveaux is a spy, and tries to give away our operation, you'll kill him. Understood?" Eric then nodded pleasantly to Alcide as if they now had an excellent working arrangement.

Alcide looked puzzled at the fairy, though, so Preston rolled up his shirt sleeve and began his effortless change of an arm. Alcide nodded with understanding.

"So this is what we'll do…" said Eric.


	8. Chapter 8

It is fog land I have seen,

fog heart that I have eaten.

from_ The Land of Fog_ by Ingeborg Bachmann

* * *

A/N- Thanks so much to Sephyir for helping to improve the German!!! She's the best!

* * *

**VIII.**

I sat for hours while many aspects of their plans were discussed only a few meters away from me. What better evidence did I require that they would never let me live, I thought? Even if I was only a lowly human, I had heard far too much. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but could not. Once, I tried to relax by thinking of home but lapsed into thinking of Eric. Dieter walked over and slapped me, as if he could feel my thoughts. I was just numb. I hadn't eaten in more than 24 hours, had had only a few handfuls of water and I felt literally beaten down. When everyone began to leave during the last hour or two before dawn, I began steeling myself for being left alone with Dieter and Helga. Instead, I was surprised by Quinn telling Dieter he 'wanted' me with him. Since I guess I was so befouled with the vampire bond, Dieter didn't even seem to care. I knew he had been thinking of dreadful things to do with me but it seemed as if I disgusted him too much to act on them at the moment.

I could barely walk and so Quinn carried me into a nearby room and put me on a couch. He tried to get me to eat and gave me a soda. I didn't want anything but finally drank some of the soda. I didn't want to be alone with him. He brought some ice and put it on my face, in a wet towel. I didn't even want him to touch me and pulled away from him. We didn't talk. I could see that he was conflicted when looking at me. Good, I thought. Let him be. He _should_ be, to have involved himself with such people.

He sat in a chair and propped his feet up on a second chair, leaving me the couch, and turned out the light.

In the darkness, he said "I didn't know. Just so you know, I didn't know that he planned to acquire you. I didn't know that _you_ were Niall Brigant's great-grandchild. I thought you'd be safe in Vegas when it all went down. I'll try to get him to give you to me when he's done. Then you can just go home."

This was no different from shifting into a tiger the night of the Nevada takeover, I thought to myself. You talk to me in the dark because you're ashamed. Acquisition? Please. I've been kidnapped, starved, magicked and beaten half senseless. But in spite of my anger, I thought to myself that he _had_ kept me away from Dieter for the immediate present, and for that, I would be forever grateful. I still didn't have any hope that Dieter would ever let me live and or let Quinn take me home. He hated Niall too much for that. I was too valuable to give back. Quinn was just looking at Dieter from the outside, I thought to myself. He really didn't know what he'd bought into. He was just going to be serving a different, and perhaps much more demanding master switching from vampires to the Fae. I had met a fair number of unpleasant vampires, and horrible humans, but I had never met anyone as awful as Dieter. He had set the high water mark in my 27 years on this earth, I thought to myself. You really could have evil embodied in a corporeal form. And a member of my own family had given me to him.

I felt so empty inside, lying there in that dark room. Hollowed out, and empty. I cried in the dark, as silently as I could. After a time, I fell into a deep sleep and did not awake for many hours. There was nothing worth waking for…

**

* * *

  
**

I awoke with Helga kicking at me. Literally. She kicked me in the abdomen. She pulled me up by the shirt I was wearing, slapped me several times while I groaned and told me that my presence was required. When I still moved too slowly for her, she grabbed my arm and her fingers left burn marks on my wrist that looked almost like cigarette burns and which made me cry out as my skin blistered under her touch. I felt dizzy with the pain as she pulled me along with her through the hall and back into the meeting room, which was brightly illuminated by the early afternoon sun through windows near the ceiling. I blinked, feeling lost.

Dieter grabbed me roughly, as usual, and slammed me down in a seat at the table. He turned my face up to him by roughly grabbing my chin and then said something to me in what I guessed was German but I didn't understand it. I only knew that it snapped me into a state of greater mental clarity.

"You will read this lynx. You will tell me if he is with us or against us."

I tried to focus on the person he seemed to be referring to, a werelynx. He had been there the day before but was now back and looking rather miserable. He was of medium height with dark blonde hair, middle aged and appeared to be stressed. I could hardly even get a fix on his thought signature, between my own lightheadedness and the man's apprehension.

"I need to touch him," I said weakly. I was already determined to say the guy was fine, no matter what, because I'd seen enough of what Dieter did to people he didn't like and I couldn't see consigning anyone to that, let alone someone who would work against Dieter. But I had appear to make the effort.

Dieter yanked me out of the chair and pulled me over to where the werelynx stood. So much for thinking about the welfare of your reader, I thought to myself. Clearly, Dieter hadn't had much experience with telepaths, or didn't have any idea of what lack of clarity because of rough treatment might do for the ability to read someone. My arms were so bruised from his and Helga's pulling me around.

I started to reach out to the werelynx and then realized I should ask first.

"May I touch you?" I asked weakly.

The man looked at me with poorly disguised pity, and nodded.

He was afraid, I felt, as I touched his hand. He had not wanted to make the agreement to fight after meeting Dieter, no matter what Quinn said. But he had been sent out recruiting. I had the impression, in the form of an image, that he had spoken to Calvin Norris. He did not feel the cause was right when such forces were involved. He had talked frankly to Calvin. I saw his thoughts mostly in images. He did not like Dieter, much as he respected Quinn. No surprise there.

"It's fine'" I said to Dieter. Dieter slowly turned on me, grabbing me again by the throat. His eyes bore into me. And he knew I had lied... I shuddered, unable to stop myself. Without even looking at the werelynx he said to Quinn,

"Kill him. Here. Right now." And then he picked me up and threw me, like a ragdoll, against the wall.

I was rather incoherent for several minutes after, my eyes seeing stars and my ears ringing… I felt a trickle of blood run down my neck and trace out onto my collarbone and pool in that hollow where your collarbone meets your neck. I could see Dieter standing over me and could make out his words but only slowly, like sound through water,

"…will fucking break her. _How_ does she resist? Die verbohrte Hure! Helga…"

No, no, not more Helga… I fell unconscious and for a time there was nothing.

I awoke upright, in the chair, and came around slowly. My ribs and abdomen ached with a dull sensation. I was not further burned, though. My throat was dry and I was so parched. I felt dried blood crusted around my neck. I looked down and saw my shirt was stained with blood again. I remembered hitting the wall. Actually I hurt everywhere but the laceration at the back of my head was especially painful. It was now later in the day because the sun was much lower. It looked like it must be getting close to sunset, I thought. I must have been unconscious for a while. As soon as I was fairly alert again, it seemed Dieter knew. He wheeled around in the middle of a conversation with someone and loomed over me, his face too close to mine for comfort.

He murmured something "Tiefer, tiefer in dich hinein…" and I felt that sledgehammer feeling again in my mind. It was like he was burrowing deeper and deeper into my mind as he said it. But somehow, I was so gone from my body and my mind that I managed to sidestep it a bit. He took my face in his two hands and shook his head. "She is so strong for a human, this one. She finds tricks around me… Eine gescheite Schlampe" he murmured to himself. He knelt before me on one knee, placed his hands around my cheeks and and looked into my eyes. He whispered in this slitheringly powerful voice, "Ich zwinge dich. I compel you. Hörst du mir zu? Are you listening to me? You will do _my_ bidding."

I slowly nodded, and I felt this swirling inside my head but I was so out of my own body at this point that I just shifted away from him in my mind, as well. My acknowledgement was empty and without meaningful agreement. Without looking up at him, I felt his strange fascination with my resistance. My resistance was marginal at best, compared to how unaffected I was by vampire glamour, but the fact that it was there at all had captured his interest. I now felt heavy and slow, and had to make conscious effort to think my own thoughts. But in spite of him, I still could. When Dieter was distracted by the entry of a number of other weres, I tried to center my mind. I thought about setting things up at Merlotte's for lunch. Checking stock for Sam at the bar. Making sure we had plenty of True Bloods… Bill... Pam… Eric… I saw Dieter turn to me sharply when I said Eric's name in my mind. I was really getting worn down by his hitting me. So I focused on Pam. I was not bound to Pam by anything other than love and friendship. I remembered our recent shopping trip. I thought of her eyes and the way she laughed. I focused on her voice, her sharp humor and tried not to let it slip into Eric's voice, his face, his eyes. I felt stronger and straightened myself in the chair, looking at the blood on the floor where the werelynx had been. Well, at least he didn't burn to death I thought. I wondered what it would be like to die by burning... then tried to push the thought way from my mind. I was holding on. I just had to keep holding on, though for what I didn't even know. I sighed internally. Next, I thought of my Gran, and baking pies in the kitchen. I kept holding on to simple thoughts, comforting thoughts.

At various times throughout the evening Dieter eyed me, spoke to me, attempted further magic on me. He kept touching me, which was making me more and more frightened of him. By the time Alcide arrived, I was trying my best to keep myself remote so Dieter would just leave me alone. Alcide came in, talking to Quinn, and was introduced to Dieter. I thought it curious that he appeared not to even give me the slightest attention. It was odd. Finally, after even Quinn began to notice it, Alcide asked Quinn about why I was there and said I did not look well. Quinn made excuses for how I looked but regarded him suspiciously. Alcide quickly made reference to the fact that he had briefly dated me and that his sister really liked me. He said he felt bad to see me looking so… ill. He said he didn't want to offend Dieter, but that I did not look like a good advertisement for their cause. That seemed to take the edge of Quinn's suspicions.

As they conversed about the Shreveport packs numbers, which appeared crucial as part of the Area 5 neutralization, I began to have the strangest sensation. I felt as if I had been in the bathtub, soaking in water for a very long time, and suddenly the water started to drain away. Slowly, but as if the level of the magic used on me was dropping steadily, I felt slightly better mental clarity. It was odd. I would have shaken my head, but given how attentive Dieter now seemed to my every thought, I went on trying to focus on just feeling thick and slow on other things. If I was throwing off the Dieter's glamour, I didn't want to chance him being aware of it.

Alcide drew Quinn outside with him and I heard the cry of a wolf. Dieter looked startled but appeared to feel there was nothing all that untoward. He glanced back at me. I lazily looked around the room, which was filled with at least twenty people. Mostly Fae, a few weres. Helga looked at me darkly from her position at the side of the table. She hated me, hated Niall. I looked away from her. Even Dermot seemed very afraid of her and I had hardly seen him for the past day. She seemed to sense Dieter's growing fascination with me. I was beginning to think that she was an even greater risk to my longevity than he was. She had burned someone to death last night. Because she didn't like them, she'd said, laughing as flames had emanated from her long fingers. The room still smelled of the scent of burning flesh to me. I had her fingerprints on my wrist in painful blisters from earlier in the day.

Gradually, everyone in the large meeting room became aware of some sort of fracas outside, with another howl from a wolf. Several people went out, the doors closing behind them. As if from some instinct I couldn't explain, I called out to Dieter, distracting him for a moment.

"May I have some water, please?" I asked faintly. There was a pitcher on the table and several glasses. They had haunted me for hours.

Dieter turned to me and smiled. "What will you give me if I give you a glass, little one? What would you do for me?" His eyes sparkled. He poured out a glass of water and left it on the table in front of me for me to see.

He drew closer and I saw, out of the corner of my eye, renewed anger in Helga's face. His face was very near mine as he loomed over me while I sat leaning back into the chair… "Ergib dich mir. Surrender to me, little one. You will have water, food, whatever you desire. Gib auf, give in… give into me." He wanted to be sure I understood.

I just stared at him, his eyes were like polished obsidian. He was mesmerizing. He grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet, and stared down at me. I felt revulsion as this wash of desire from him poured over me. He was putting aside the vampire contamination issue in his mind. He was latched on to my power to resist him instead. He wanted to break that resistance. He put his hand at the back of my neck, and the other around my waist. With his face so close to mine he could have kissed me, he murmured "Ich will dich nageln" Well, I didn't need that one translated from the way he was looking at me, touching me. I started shaking uncontrollably. Please, _please_, let Quinn come back in this room, I thought to myself. However angry Quinn was with me, I could not believe that he would just stand by and say nothing while the sadistic fairy raped me. I couldn't. Suddenly a door opened and alarmed voices distracted him when something was tossed into the room. He let go of me abruptly as whatever it was caught his attention. He walked away from me.

I swayed and tried to focus my eyes on an object that had rolled across the floor and come to a stop about a meter away from the table. I blinked, trying to take in what I was seeing. I took a deep breath and again felt as if that imaginary water level had dropped even further. It looked like a head, I thought slowly to myself. But how could that be? As I allowed myself to focus clearly I felt Dieter's immense anger and took in the meaning of what I saw.

The head was Quinn's. Someone had decapitated him and tossed his head back into the room. I felt this strange stirring then somewhere inside, while in the same moment that I felt an empty nausea at the understanding of what I was seeing. I shamefully thought not about Quinn, but that the last bar to Dieter doing whatever he wanted with me was gone. My eyes started to sting with tears and I felt a moment of pure terror looking at Quinn's wide-open eyes. Not for what had happened to him. But for what would happen to me without him there anymore.

Then the door to the large room opened and I let out a gasp.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N Thanks so much to Sephyir for helping to improve the German!!! She's the best!

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**IX.**

"Hallo, Dieter." Eric stood before us, dressed all in black, his hair tied back and carefully wrapped almost to the tip of the ponytail. His eyes sparkled. He leaned on the longest sword I had ever seen. The sword was bloody. I felt a spark through the bond, only a glimmer. This was what I had feared most. Was he really standing there alone, in front of Dieter and Helga?

"Grüße, Vikinger. Es ist eine lange Zeit gewesen," Dieter said. ("Greetings, Viking. It has been a long time.") Dieter had already closed the distance between us from the moment that Eric had entered the room.

"Dieter, sie haben etwas, dass mir gehört." ("Dieter, you have something that is mine.")

"Was könnte ich wohl haben, das Ihnen gehört?" Dieter asked him. ("What could I possibly have of yours?")

"Das gehört mir," he said nodding to me. ("That is mine.")

I was totally lost. What were they saying? Clearly something about me, but… If he knows Dieter, how could he possibly think of coming into this room on his own, I wondered? Why was he even bothering to discuss me with Dieter? I just trembled. He has a plan, I told myself. Even if the plan looks crazy.

Dieter smiled. "Really. I'm supposed to believe that? Niall Brigant's great-granddaughter is bound to a vampire?" He laughed. "Surely not."

"Ask her." Eric suggested. His face gave not a single thing away.

Dieter turned to look at me and I cringed. He looked down at me with a clear command in his eyes as to what I was to do and say. I felt a distant flicker of cold fury push through the bond from Eric. He could sense how afraid I was of Dieter. But it was not just fear of Dieter, I thought, but of but of all the silver weaponry stashed around in this room and what that meant for Eric. The thin flicker from the bond convinced me further that Dieter's power over me was weakening slightly. I didn't know why it was weaker, but I was going with the idea that he didn't quite have me where he thought he did. Maybe Eric's presence was making me resist? Who knew. Irrespective of their discussion, there was still no way that this was going to end with Dieter letting me walk out with Eric, I thought to myself. I was so afraid in the knowledge that Dieter had been planning for Eric's arrival. Even if Eric had help, there were at least fifteen Fae in the room, all trained by Dieter and the lovely Helga.

It all took much less time to think that than had actually passed. How could Eric stand there like that before them if he knew what they were, I wondered? How fearless would a person have to be to come into that room alone? I met Eric's eyes and was awed by his courage even as I dreaded the thought that I could spell his final death. I would do anything to prevent that, but there was nothing really, that I could do. I guess I could let him know that I was still mentally present, so it had been worth his while to so bravely try to help me, and to stop a war.

Dieter loomed over me. "Do you know him?" Dieter asked me. I nodded slowly. "And do you belong to him?" he said with the fangs of his words, pressing venom into my mind.

If I was going to die, or we were both going to die, at the very least, I would let Eric know what I felt. I pressed back out against his firm hold on my mind, I looked up at him and with my all my strength focused the anger I felt to say clearly "_With every fiber of my being_."

Dieter stared wide-eyed at me in surprised anger, growled with bared teeth and then backhanded me so hard I fell to the side. Then all hell broke loose. Vampires seemed to pour through the doors into the room. From my vantage point on the floor, I saw Pam, Indira, Maxwell, Thalia, Felicia, Bill, Rasul and a number of others I did not recognize at all. They all carried long pike-like iron bars with sharp tips on both ends. Finely graded particles started flying through the air. Iron. It looked like iron filings. Immediately to my left, tiny Thalia took a swinging jab at Helga, who seemed as if she was trying to set everything afire, but missed her. Then she threw a handful of what must have been iron filings up at Helga's face and as Helga screamed and lost her focus when the iron hit her face, Thalia impaled her on the iron pike. I saw Eric advance on Dieter with his sword. Dieter tried to reach out for me, withdrawing the silver dagger from its sheath at his waist. It glowed oddly and he dropped the blade, puzzled, losing precious time. I managed to crawl away from him. Suddenly, Claudine and Claude appeared and surrounded me and the next thing I knew, we were gone. They had popped and taken me with them. We were now outside the building. This was no warm reunion, however, as they both appeared to be on highest alert, keeping me pressed in between them. I was shaking all over. My mouth was filled with my blood from the impact of Dieter's latest blow, which had split open my lip. I flicked my tongue against a tooth that had been knocked loose.

Then I felt Dermot's thought signature nearby. I grabbed Claudine and whispered "Dermot's still here. He's still here. Be careful."

"Maybe we should get her out of here, now," said Claude. "Just in case."

"We have to stay to protect the witches, too," Claudine reminded him. "We can't leave until we are sure they are all safe. We agreed we would stay with her here."

"The witches?" I asked.

"Yes, Amelia and the entire coven from Shreveport are here." She whispered to me. "They are weakening the magic of Dieter's group. That is how we could get in. They wove a field of energy that impairs their magic, but they shielded us so that we could protect you. And there is other, even more powerful magic at work here..."

I became aware, now that I was away from Dieter, of more than a dozen whirring human minds, a chorus of voices around us, chanting. It was so persistent that it almost melded with the chirping of the crickets. It must be the source of the weakening of Dieter's hold that I had felt earlier, I guessed. It had been so subtle, steadily increasing, while decreasing his magic and now it was as if I felt his magic was just drifting away from me. I felt this surge of energy that I knew had to be from Eric. I closed my eyes with the pleasure of feeling him again.

When I opened my eyes again, I tried to gauge my surroundings. It appeared that the building was some kind of office building, I thought to myself. It was next to a wooded area. There was a large parking lot, and there were a number of cars. In the dark, I could see many kneeling figures, spaced about every ten feet. They were the witches, chanting without interruption, but with their voices growing steadily in intensity and purpose. Near each witch there was a fairy standing guard and they provided, from their own corporeal form, the soft illumination by which the chanters read their spell.

Sounds of the fighting inside emanated from the building. Horrible sounds. Suddenly, I trembled and then collapsed into Claude's arms. He picked me up. And then a feeling of complete warmth flooded into me again. I felt suffused with a sense of wellbeing. Dieter had to be dead, I thought. His magic was fading with him. And Eric was alive. I bowed my head and breathed deeply, inhaling the cool night air. Alive. My head still ached from all the hits I had endured, but my mind was once again my own.

Where was Dermot? I thought to myself. He is still nearby. The thought signature was weak. But it felt like it was moving closer. Then it seemed to sputter out.

Suddenly, a lion appeared, dragging Dermot, who was now unconscious. He had serious wounds. Preston stepped back into his familiar human form behind Sam, the lion, having shifted from being some sort of very large bird. Dermot's wounds looked as if they could have been caused by talons, or by claws. Then I saw a large wolf appear, with swishing tail and eyes wild, blood on his muzzle. I recognized him as Alcide Herveaux. We four waited with the lion, the wolf and the unconscious Dermot while the fighting raged on inside and the chanting grew ever louder and stronger. It seemed to go on and on. Claude still held me, seemingly effortlessly. I rested my head on his shoulder, feeling safe in his arms.

At last, there was silence inside the building. The door swung open and Eric stood in the doorway, resting slightly on his sword. He was unburned, I thought to myself, amazed. He was splattered all over with blood as I could see in the light. He had a gash across his right thigh, his shirt was ripped and it looked to me as if he might have been stabbed, but I couldn't tell from his manner. He gazed slightly wild-eyed at me. His eyes glowed like soft embers.

Claude lowered me to the ground and tried to encourage me to stand. He kissed my forehead and steadied me.

Eric called out to Amelia and the chanting stopped.

Claudine nodded to Eric, hugged me and said "We must depart. I will see you tomorrow." She glanced down at the lion and smiled softly. She kissed me and then she, Claude and Preston popped. The witches also all disappeared, one by one, along with their Fae guardians.

Sam stood next to me and nuzzled my hand. I brushed through his mane. The wolf howled and came to stand on the other side of me. When I thought about it later, I realized they were worried that Eric could hurt me because he was likely so high on fae blood.

Eric picked up his sword and walked slowly toward me. His eyes were calmer as he approached. He put his arms around me, still holding the sword in one hand, still watchful, but rested his chin on the top of my head and rubbed it there gently. I sighed heavily against him. He inhaled deeply and groaned. The fae scent was everywhere, all over me and he had had so much fae blood. He pulled away for a moment and looked at me, fangs down, swaying. It was obvious that he was straining mightily to keep himself in check. He looked at my bloody lip, the blood crusted on my throat and his eyes started glowing again. Then abruptly, he stepped away from me. Without looking at me he said softly,

"Sam, take her home. Lover, I'll try see you before dawn. I have to round up my people and we have to dispose of the weres. Niall will do the rest." He looked over at Alcide and out of it though he was, appeared to nod curtly.

I looked up at him, wanting so much to say what I was thinking, but now was not the time.

Pam came out and though she had burn wounds on her arms and one on her face, and her clothes were in tatters and she had a slash across her chest, she seemed relatively unaffected by it, as if she didn't feel it. She looked wild-eyed as she moved eagerly toward me, smiling with her eyes glowing like rubies as she looked at me. Eric grabbed her by the shoulder and held her off the ground. Her feet kept walking as if she was determined to get to me. Through the doorway, I seemed to see Thalia and Rasul entangled with one another. It was like some kind of frenzy inside.

"Go," Eric said firmly.

I glanced down at Dermot, who was still unconscious. "What will you do with Dermot, Eric?"

He did not answer me. Pam snarled and hissed at him, glancing back at me. He nodded again at Sam and Alcide, and we swiftly walked off toward Sam's truck. I was still unsteady on my feet. Sam shifted quickly and pulled on jeans and a shirt that he had in the flatbed. Alcide did the same at his truck and then came over and touched my battered face gently with his hands, shaking his head.

"What?" I said, looking at the two of them.

Sam just shook his head, too.

I was so amazed that I had survived that I couldn't even begin imagine what their concerns were… I had dwelled in Hell and lived.


	10. Chapter 10

**X.**

Sam and I arrived at my house to find Octavia and Amelia sitting on the front porch along with several of their friends from the Shreveport coven. The front drive of the house was littered with cars but we parked there instead of around back, where it was even more crowded according to Sam. I smiled wanly at the witches on the porch. They rose and murmured politely to me and then moved out toward their cars. Amelia and Octavia followed us in through the front door and I entered my living room in stunned amazement. The house was a wreck, with chairs and folding chairs all over the place, while maps, notes, drawings, empty bottles, and crumb-laden plates were scattered over every possible surface. I walked over to look at a hole in the living room wall near the kitchen. I stared open mouthed into the hole, which was about five feet off the ground and which looked like something had broken _out _of the wall. It went clean through the plaster and wood and looked like it ran into the concrete. There was a bent iron reinforcement rod tossed on the couch. In spite of my being lightheaded, battered and exhausted I turned to Amelia, Octavia and Sam, pointing to the hole in the wall as if to say 'what gives?' with an exasperated look.

Amelia shook her head and put up her hands defensively. "Don't look at us. He's your boyfriend and we didn't think we were exactly in a good position to tell him to stop breaking your house right then, did we Sam?" She looked over at Sam.

Sam stuck his hands in his jeans pockets and shook his head. "Definitely not a point where we could step in. Sorry, Sookie."

I gave them both a dark look and went to glance at the dining room with the china cabinet, thinking _I'd_ be rolling people's heads if anything had happened to Gran's porcelain. The dining room appeared unscathed and I saw that some kind soul had crowded some of the leaded crystal that had been in the living room display shelves into the cabinet to safeguard it.

I went back and looked at my living room wall. "Well, can you at least tell me what happened?" I asked them.

Sam looked sheepish about it but Amelia piped up "Eric and your grandfather had an argument about a few things."

I glanced down at the iron rod on the couch and, wide-eyed, got the picture. I sat down in the armchair, feeling suddenly really dizzy. Eric had taken iron to my great-grandfather? I hadn't seen Niall there at the battle but I knew that he had to have provided all those fairies guarding the witches outside the compound. Where had he been? Had they fought about anything other than just the obvious situation? Had he hurt Niall?

Octavia came out of the kitchen and pressed a can of soda pop into my hand. "You should have some sugar. I'll try to make you something light to eat. Chicken noodle soup, okay? I'm defrosting the broth. Amelia, maybe when she's done with this, you can help her shower. Sam, if you're staying for a while, maybe we can get some of this sorted" she said waving toward the living room mess, "while the soup is cooking."

Sam nodded in agreement and started collecting bottles right away. I felt terrible about that.

"No, Sam. Please stop. Everyone did so much to help me and to stop what was going on. This can all wait. Please don't. Just rest. Really. You all look exhausted. Everybody should just rest."

Sam looked at me and shook his head. "I'm tired but you're tired and beaten up. I win." He went on picking up bottles on his individual fingers and carried them out to the kitchen.

"It's 4 am in the morning Sam. You need to stop, or I'll go to work tomorrow." Now _that_ one seemed to give him pause for thought… He gave me a look but stood out in the kitchen for a bit chatting with Octavia.

After finishing the soda, Amelia packed me off to the bedroom and helped steady me while I undressed, showered, and changed into a nightgown and bathrobe. She seemed edgy looking over how bruised I was, not just on my face but on my back, arms, throat and she seemed like she was looking me over for other things. At first I thought it was the burns on my arm that had her worried. Finally, I got it.

"I wasn't raped, Amelia. I was starting to think I definitely was going to be, right before they got there, though…"

She looked so relieved. "Claudine and I were so worried. I don't even want to imagine what Eric and Niall were thinking about it… It sounds like this fairy was a really nasty piece of work. Claudine said he is very sadistic. That vampire Thalia hates him like you can't imagine. Pam told me she had never seen her interested in anything as much as she was interested in participating in killing him."

I couldn't stop myself from shuddering remembering him. Would I ever forget his face? The way he had looked at me right before Quinn died, his face so close to mine. The way he held me, the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice… Dead, I told myself. He's dead and gone.

Amelia looked at me cowering, lost in my memories and gently touched my face. My eyes filled with tears. She hugged me for several minutes.

I went back to the kitchen and sat with Amelia, Octavia and Sam and had some homemade chicken noodle soup with peas and carrots. It was like ambrosia.

As I passed by the refrigerator door on my way back to the bedroom, I noticed that a new addendum had been made on my word, 'accord', while I had been missing. Eric had noted that he was glad I was using possessive pronouns. He had made the note while I was gone, as if he was sure of my safe return, I thought to myself. Well, I was never going to complain about them arranging for my protection again. And I was going to apologize to Bill, who had watched over me steadfastly while awake, in spite of all my surly complaints.

**

* * *

  
**

I was tucked into bed by 5 am. I wanted to sleep with the light left on. I looked around my room, thinking about how fairies had so easily taken me away. Through all the wards, in spite of the iron in the walls, it had just been easy for them. They were so powerful, I thought to myself, so terrifyingly powerful. Even a half-fairy. I hadn't been afraid of the dark since I was a child, but I didn't feel foolish leaving the light on, since I felt I had seen real darkness, face to face.

My mind wouldn't settle down. I wondered if the vampires who fought Dieter's group were all okay. Even without the fairies' magic, some of the Louisiana vampires were small and many of them were too young, I realized, to have ever seen the someone like Dieter or Helga. Perhaps the element of surprise, not so much that the attack occurred, since Dieter had provoked it, but that their magic had been depleted, gave the vampires the advantage. The Fae were fighting without their usual abilities, unlike the vampires. I thought about the alliance between the Shreveport group of vampires, witches, the Brigant Fae, Alcide and Sam. Maybe there was a hope for peace between all of them, I thought. For every hateful member of a race like Dieter, there were examples of people trying to do the right or honorable thing. Even Preston had kept his word and had come back to try to aid them in rescuing me and getting rid of Dieter. I wondered if Dermot was still alive and what Eric had done with him if he was. How could a man hate his own father so?

I dozed off after about fifteen minutes and then a short time later felt myself being lifted away slightly from the pillows. Eric slipped in place behind me, surrounding me with his legs and arms. He had changed clothes and was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. I rolled my head to the side, pressing my cheek into Eric's chest. He examined my wrist and made a sound of disgust and then started rubbing his blood very gently into the burns. He tipped my head forward and did the same with the laceration on my scalp. When he was done he bit his wrist and pressed it against my lips. I took a bit. I was afraid to have too much on the heels of having had his blood only a few days before. He kissed my head and pressed his face against it while I sucked on his wrist and I pressed back into him. Even though I was sleepy, I felt aroused and he was getting aroused, and so he drew his wrist away. He finally spoke,

"No, not happening... You're too weak and I'm still too hyped up. I'd end up hurting you. I'll stay until you fall asleep and then I'll go to the hidey-hole," he whispered softly. "I think it will drive Octavia from the house, however," he said with a chuckle. Once his wrist had healed, he held my hands in his and had wrapped my arms with his across my chest and waist. He was silent, just pressing his face into my damp hair. Tears just started rolling down my cheeks.

"I love you. I just wanted to tell you, before anything else could possibly happen. I love you." I said softly.

"It was the sword. I saw how you looked at me when I stood there with that sword, Lover. I should have gotten into a good fight with it weeks ago. I could have broken down your resolve so much sooner. Women always love men with swords. A thousand years and it's still the same."

"Eric!" I hissed and then I had to laugh even though I was still crying.

He chuckled then whispered to me softly, "Sookie , I've known since Rhodes…"

I nodded, understanding. The bond. But it wasn't the same to feel something as to say it. To be willing to own what you feel enough to give voice to it. "I just needed to say it out loud. To have you hear the words. To give them voice."

He kissed my bare shoulder. He paused a moment and then said, almost as if he couldn't believe he was saying it, "I love you, I am yours."

He held me tight in his arms and I just cried my heart out. "Shhhh. You're safe. You're safe now. Just rest my Love, rest…"

* * *

To be continued- how they did it, Niall, and what about that bond…


	11. Chapter 11

**XI.**

I awoke around noon to the sound of Claudine laughing softly in bed next to me. She was reading my library book, _Seabiscuit_. She was dressed in pajamas, her hair was kind of messy, and it really looked like she had slept in the bed for a while next to me. Even though I'd hardly stirred, she reached out and stroked my cheek.

"You are healing well, little one. How do you feel?" she said, smiling down at me.

I cringed. Her choice of endearments was unfortunate. The last person to call me 'little one' was Dieter, when I had asked for water and he... I tried to steel myself internally. No, I would _not_ slide down that path…

I looked up at her and regarded her carefully. I had always thought that she possessed a good heart. She said she wanted to be an angel, right? But I had realized in the past few days that I really knew so little about anything. So little about what the Fae really were like, so little about my family and how it got to where it was. I didn't even know much about Eric, other that I loved him and that I believed that he was one of only a few people I really trusted. The mental tally of people I trusted was now painfully low: Eric, Sam, Pam, and... ? Maybe Amelia and Claudine. Amelia had never done me wrong. But I had not known her for all that long, much as I liked her. Claudine had been taking care of me for sometime and was kind and fierce when needed. But Claudine was Niall's granddaughter and Niall… currently in my mind Niall was listed as Preston's procurer. He had tricked me and let a fairy do magic on me and according to Preston it had been his intent that I be seduced. Between good fairy Niall and bad fairy Dieter, I was not feeling too confident that associating with fairies was in my best interest. And then there was the half-fairy. I didn't even want to get started on that one. But Claudine had always been wonderful to me. Of course, Niall had told her to be. Was she paid, I wondered? Was I just a job to her? And had she known about Niall's little plan with Preston? Had she been fine with the idea? She knew how much Bill's 'job' for Sophie-Anne had hurt me. She'd seen me in New Orleans right after I'd found out. Could she have been okay with Niall doing something similar even if the goal was different?

Claudine's smile evaporated as she seemed to see so many things fleeting across my face.

"Sookie, I give you my word that I did not know. About Preston. I did not know. I would never have allowed it to take place if I had known. I give you my word."

I just looked at her quietly, pulled myself up in bed and leaned back against the headboard. I glanced out the window and saw it was slightly overcast. I stretched a bit and realized I was still very achy. My left shoulder and ribs ached. I looked at my wrist and noticed that while the burns from Helga's fingers were healed from Eric's blood, the skin was still discolored with marks that almost looked like ash smudges. I traced the outline of one with my left index finger, noting the chipped soft pink nail polish that Pam had put on my nails on Tuesday night. Only a lifetime ago, I said to myself. It was now Saturday afternoon and I felt like a cat on its tenth life.

I glanced over at her. She had tears in her eyes as she looked at me searchingly.

"I believe you." I said quietly.

I got up and went to the bathroom. While washing my hands I glanced at my face. A lot of the swelling was gone. My split lip had healed. I looked at my lateral incisor, which had been loosened by Dieter's parting gift. It was still tender but seemed firmly anchored in place. I remembered Jason got punched at a bar once and even though the loosened tooth seemed to heal he ended up having to get a root canal. I was hoping vampire blood could prevent that. I looked at my neck, which had a faint pattern of bruises that looked like fingerprints. But they were fading away. My throat was still a bit tender, but overall, all my bruises were fading extremely quickly thanks to Eric. With a hand mirror I checked out the laceration on my scalp but that one seemed to be just fine. Just a thin, inch and a half long mark where it had been. It would probably be gone by sunset.

I came back out of the bathroom and put on my bathrobe then sat in the rocker in the corner, near the window. I rocked. I idly traced the burned smudges on my right wrist while thinking about the past few days. Were there more enemies like Dieter, I wondered?

Claudine got up from the bed and then knelt down next to me and examined my wrist in the filtered sunlight.

"I don't know how to get rid of these. But I'm sure the Prince will know."

I drew my wrist back from her. "Then I guess I'm keeping them."

I rose, got my slippers out of the closet and left to get something to drink in the kitchen.

**

* * *

  
**

It was about an hour after sunset and Eric, Pam and Thalia sat on the front porch of Sookie's house, drinking True Bloods. Pam looked slightly haggard, having had her first experience with waking up after having had too much fae blood.

"So what are you going to tell her," Pam asked quietly.

"Well, he has to stay there for at least a few more days. He didn't flake, so I'm sure he'll recover," Eric said quietly. "But he's going to be pretty weak for quite some time. He's lucky that you found him, otherwise we might have just thought he was gone and lost in the debris.

Pam grimaced. "She had been so angry at him." She shook her head.

"She had good reasons to be angry at him, Pam. But I don't think it will be a problem anymore. I don't think any of it will be a problem. Dieter was enough to firmly grind thoughts of caution into anyone."

"She'll feel bad about Indira," Pam said softly.

Thalia turned to the two of them. "She really likes us, doesn't she? It's so odd. To think she comes from a Fae lineage and she likes us. Bond or no. She is a very odd creature. To have survived that long in Dieter's hands and still be talking back to him. A _human_ that strong? I like her."

Pam looked amused at the idea of Thalia liking a human. She usually considered them vermin. But yes, they had all been amazed to overhear Sookie snapping back at Dieter's question about to whom she belonged. It had been one of those moments where you were comfortable saying that _that_ human was your friend, she thought to herself.

Eric nodded but was silent. Three dead vampires, Bill Compton almost dead. Really, all things considered, they had done well. There had been twenty-five to take out, not including the weres. He'd personally gotten half of them. They had been less than half the number of the Fae and yet they had managed to prevail thanks to the witches and Niall's very artful skills. His real concern at present, however, was how to spin this to Felipe de Castro. Sooner or later, someone was going to talk. It would be better if he talked first and no one talked after him.

On the one hand, Sookie had been kidnapped and it was reasonable to assume that she could be tracked because of the bond. They were under orders to protect her in Felipe's name. Justifiable actions to recover her would, of course, include taking out whoever was responsible. But too many people had been through that room and knew that Dieter was involved and had seen Sookie in his presence. It couldn't just be pinned on a rogue group of weres. That he had taken on an allied group of weres and Fae, in defense of his state, and presumably his human, was not the issue. The issue was that _he had won_. They had recovered the protected human, averted a war and done this against incredible odds given their numbers. Felipe would be threatened by his abilities and by the fact that he had not needed the King's help, and had not even notified him. Claiming a quickly evolving situation and little time could only take him so far. And the details of how it was all accomplished? How to keep the assistance of the other Fae faction out of it? How to prevent Felipe from knowing that Sookie was related to Niall, Prince of the Fae? This situation had to be very carefully managed. Information would need to be meted out carefully. That meant that he had to plug any potential leaks.

At the scene they had meticulously killed everyone not with their alliance. So that left their alliance as a potential source of trouble. He knew that the shifter, for all of his dislike of shifters, was wholly trustworthy on any point that involved Sookie. And he knew that Alcide was unlikely to talk because of the fact that he had basically gone against his own kind, aiding in a vampire-driven bloodbath of weres that had even killed the famous John Quinn. The witches? Well, after showing them how to weaken Fae magical energy Niall had, of course, instructed the fairy guardians to glamour the hell out of every one of those witches. Even Amelia now had no clear recollection of anything other than what they had done was really helpful. They had even managed to make her incurious of what had she had done, an adept bit of work. All of the writing on their printouts of the chant had disappeared as soon as he had called out to Amelia to cease their spell. The paper itself then disappeared when they were popped back to their gathering place in Bon Temps. Certainly none of the Fae would want to leak information that they were fighting _with_ vampires. No, if anyone would talk, it was from within his own vampire group. The one with the most to gain was Rasul. In his expedience in trying to line up experienced fighters, especially those experienced with the Fae, Rasul might have been a miscalculation. The two dead vampires from Arkansas would tell no tales and the third, an 800 year old loner named Stefano, had always proven quiet and uninvolved in politics other than being a very reliable spy utilized by Sophie-Anne to keep track of things in Arkansas long before her ill-fated marriage to Peter Threadgill. No Rasul was the one he had to worry about.

"Thalia," said Eric, "I have a job for you."

Thalia turned to regard him circumspectly.

"I want you to go down to Baton Rouge and keep an eye on Rasul. He seemed to like you, yes?"

Thalia made a somewhat disgusted face. "I really had too much of Helga. I don't even like men, really. Especially not vampire men."

"Did you have his blood?" Eric asked cautiously.

Thalia looked appalled. "Of course I didn't! I may have been drunk but I am not stupid." She looked insulted.

"Good. I want you to go to Baton Rouge and try to see if you can stay close to, or even with, Rasul. If you see any sign of his using the information about our little raid on the Magnolia compound- _any_ sign- I want you to let me know."

Thalia looked puzzled. "You want me to _let you know_? Wouldn't it be more expedient if I just killed him? Letting you know takes a hell of lot of time and in the mean time, if he gets wind of my reporting to you, he can try to kill _me_. How about, if I don't like how he's acting, I just kill him for you. Much better."

Eric chortled. "Really Thalia, I have to say that this entire experience has been quite enlightening. And the thought that you were frolicking with him just last night and are now proposing to kill him if he's plotting against us is just…"

She cut him off, "Just _wise_?" She looked at him darkly.

Eric smiled. "Yes, wise. Alright, I give you carte blanche to decide what to do with that situation. If you feel something's not right, I leave it to your judgment. If you want help, you call us."

Thalia hesitated.

"What is it?" Eric asked charily. What was she going to expect in return, he wondered?

"When I come back, I would like to have a different job than the bar. I would like to continue to work in the Area. I selected to work for you because you are reasonable to work for and you do not impose. But I _hate_ the bar. I hate the tourists. I spend my entire night filled with thoughts of disappointment over the fact that I cannot drain any of the people who approach me. I dislike them all intensely. I would like a better job. I will do this for you, if I can have a better job."

Eric looked at her and smiled. "Thalia, when you come back, I'll put you in charge of security. You'll manage the security in Shreveport and perhaps here in Bon Temps. Eventually maybe the entire Area. I would have put you in security months ago if I had known more of your real skills. You never said anything about your background. You were only a face in the database."

"You do not mind having a security person who is so small?" she asked suspiciously.

He looked surprised. "Thalia, Sophie-Anne LeClerq was your size and she was the most devious person I have ever met. It is no problem for me whatsoever. In fact, it can be quite useful to appear unimposing, at times."

Thalia rose and bowed to him, and turned to depart. Then she turned back.

"Could I just kill him and come straight back?"

Eric made a face and then shook his head. "Bad form."

She looked disappointed, but nodded her agreement.

As she walked across the cemetery to the Compton house to gather her things, Eric turned to Pam, who was just shaking her head.

"What?" he said.

"I think I'm going to keep a stake close by my side from now on…"

He chuckled.

**

* * *

  
**

It was 8:30 pm according to the digital clock on my nightstand. The room was pretty dark. The house was quiet. I had fallen back to sleep after having a little more soup in the early afternoon. I'd hugged Claudine so she knew I wasn't upset with her, but had just gone back to bed, unwilling to talk. I drifted off to sleep listening to her talk, in the living room to Amelia and Octavia about their craft.

I turned over in the bed to find Eric stretched out and reading a book in the dark. Those eyes, I thought to myself... As soon as I turned, he reached over and stroked my hair.

"Lover, do you want the light on?" he said softly.

"No, it's okay. What are you reading?" sleepily.

"The horse book. _Seabiscuit._ Claudine is right. It's an interesting book. If that is possible for a book about a horse…"

I chuckled softly. I just lay there, silently for a while. My mind kept sinking back into what I'd been through. Part of me wanted to ask about the fight and if everyone was alright. But before I had even been able to formulate the question I would just start thinking about Dieter and Helga and feel literally sick. How could such beings exist in this world, so filled with hatred? Were they just the Fae equivalent of the very worst humans? I hoped they were the worst. Were they examples of what humans who wrote of demons had encountered? Embodiments of evil? I touched the marks on my wrist again. I have more scars than the ones that show, I thought to myself.

Finally Eric spoke. "Sookie, Claudine says she would like to have Niall remove the burn marks but that you refused."

"I don't want anything from him. Anything at all."

Eric was silent for a moment and then said, "We should get up. You need to eat. You haven't eaten enough since your return." He rose from the bed. He was still in the clothes he had changed into when he got back to my house close to dawn, I noted. I guess Claudine watched me during the day and that Eric had hung around after sunset. They had clearly spoken upon his rising, if the book was any indication.

I sighed and got up, put my slippers back on and then thought better of it. I went to the dresser and got socks. Then we went toward the kitchen. I glanced around the living room, which was now quite clean. I paused at the hole in the wall and turned to Eric.

"Can you explain this?" I asked, my eyes narrow and my head tipped slightly to the side.

He walked over, made a fist and put his fist through the hole in the wall. Then withdrew his fist and turned to me, looking at me without even a trace of humor.

I shook my head. "You know, I know I really got hit in the head a lot of times, but I think I had that part figured out, Eric. I meant the _why_ part. Why were you pulling an iron rebar out of my wall?"

He paused for an instant to think about how to explain it.

"I suppose the best way to describe it is to say that I was trying to capture your grandfather's full attention in a manner that also assured my personal safety," he said in a cool tone.

"So you were arguing with him. Because of Preston and Dermot?"

"It was the whole thing, Lover. The entire situation." He shook his head as if thinking back on the moment still disturbed him.

"So you used iron on my great-grandfather?"

He hesitated, clearly trying to feel through the bond where this was headed. I could see that my present state of mind was not lending itself to clarity there. Perhaps he thought that it would upset me? Part of me wondered it Eric's perception of me through the bond was still not quite what it had been. If Dieter had damaged something. But I threw that concern off to look up at him and hear his reply.

He nodded slowly. He looked down at me and said quietly, as if hoping not to upset me too much, "I did, yes. It weakened him enough so that I could make my points clearly to him. So I did use the iron bar on him, yes."

Well, high points for honesty. I could be equally honest.

"_Good_." I walked on into the kitchen.

I rooted around in the kitchen and finally just decided to make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and have a glass of milk. I wanted comfort food. As I sat eating my sandwich, I could feel Eric's puzzlement. Finally, looking as if he just wasn't getting very far sorting me out, he said,

"I actually burned him. On his cheek. I was very angry. You don't have a problem with it, I take it?"

I put down my sandwich and looked at him.

"The iron? No. Basically, I think if he let you walk alone, into a room with more than fifteen fairies, to rescue _his_ great-granddaughter who _his_ _own son_ kidnapped and gave to Dieter, he deserves whatever you'd want to do to him. I think I'm not sure I ever want to see him again. Frankly, I'm pretty much thinking I wish I'd never met him. I know there was that whole 'war thing' you also had to deal with, but the reason _I_ was there was his fault. They found me because of Preston. And Preston was his fault, too. It's really hard to look back at 36 hours in hell and _not_ think that it was all my grandfather's fault. And then he sent you in to fix it all? Alone, initially? To face Dieter and Helga? No. Bring on the iron if you want."

Just thinking about Eric having to enter that room on his own made my blood boil. I really didn't care how brave he was or what the plan was. I didn't even care if Eric offered to do it. I was beginning to see that the whole possessive thing was a two way street. And Niall was dragging someone who was _mine_ into his mess. I wasn't feeling very forgiving on the topic. Not in the least. I'd have to say that to the contrary, the more I ruminated on it, the angrier I was feeling about it.

Eric paused as if considering something very carefully. He looked over at me and gave me an odd smile and then finally said,

"Sookie, I wasn't exactly alone."


	12. Chapter 12

**XII.**

Okay, I was confused. I know I'd been bad shape, but I was sure I was still capable of counting beyond one.

"Eric, I know that I'd been unconscious recently, and sure, I was totally terrified, but what I saw was just _you_, by yourself? In a room, with about fifteen fairies, including Dieter who was basically like a demon or the devil incarnate or something. You were alone, with only your sword."

"For the record, twenty five fairies in total at the compound that night and demons can be much worse than Dieter. And while I guess you could say I was alone as the sole _body_ that entered, I wasn't really totally alone because Niall was seeing everything I was seeing and was casting magic from the moment I entered that room, Sookie."

I was taken aback. "He was seeing what you were seeing? How? Where was he?"

"I think he was on the roof of the building. At least that's the sense I had of it. I am only telling you this because I don't think it would be right for me to let you think he allowed me to be at such risk of harm to rescue you. It would be wrong for you to hold that against him. And wrong for you to think that I was your sole savior in doing that that. He _did_ try to keep me safe, specifically so that I could save you. In so doing, he allowed us to put down Dieter's plot, knowing that we would kill all of Dieter's band. We both wished for your safety and for Dieter's end. By unifying our efforts, we achieved what each of us wanted. He helped me do it."

"How did he do that… what you describe? That he could see what you saw? How?"

Eric looked at me silently, again, considering things carefully. "If I tell you how he did it, you cannot reveal it to anyone."

"Okay…"

"I'm _very_ serious, Sookie." He looked at me gravely. "No one else, knows. Not even Pam. It would be greatly frowned upon, for both of us."

"Eric, it's not like I'm going to tell anyone something that you tell me I can't tell anyone. Remember I can listen to people's thoughts all the time and obviously don't talk about that."

"It involved magic and my blood."

I was puzzled. "You mean he used your blood like in a craft sense? Like witches use hair or personal belongings?"

"No. I take it that this is some dark magical thing, among the Fae, for Niall to have done. He was very secretive about it and we were alone when he did it. He said it was old magic, called it blood magic. And from my end, to give _my_ blood to a fairy… To say the least, an odd thing. But, that's what we did. He drank some of my blood after doing magic on it and in so doing he could see what I was seeing. I could feel him seeing through me, but it did not inform my actions in any way. By doing this, he could shield me from anything that Dieter could do, and he could protect you, too, if things went badly. As long as I was alive, he could see what was in that room and try to prevent things from getting out of hand with Dieter."

As if anticipating my next question, about why the witches magic didn't prevent what Niall was doing, he said "The magic the witches performed excluded his abilities, those serving him and especially those of Claudine and Claude. He had written some sort of incantation for Amelia and she had distributed it to all of them to use. It was as if all his fairies were insulated from the effects of the spell. The point I want to emphasize to you is that even though I was in that room alone, I _did_ have his protection in large measure. Fairies are very hard to kill, Sookie. Dieter, especially so. This was the third time I have fought him in direct combat. He has always managed to escape before, even when vastly outnumbered. This time, between my battling him, all the iron and Niall's protection he was overcome. And Niall also did other things, for instance all the silver in the room was transmuted to iron. Their fire, already weakened, was largely quenched by some waves of magic that just washed through the room like the tide."

Suddenly I remembered Dieter dropping his silver dagger when he withdrew it from its sheath. The blade had glowed. It must have changed to iron and burned him, I realized. And Helga had not be able to set spark as I had seen her do so many times. What was it that Claudine had said to me? That there was other, more powerful magic at work than the witches' chanting? So Niall had used Eric as a kind magical conduit for information? And how long did that last, I wondered. What _else_ was involved?

"But, was that safe? What you did- letting him use your blood? Was it safe for you? What else was in the magic? Are you sure you _really_ know what he did?" I was so suspicious now of any really powerful fairy. If I had thought the vampires were devious, a day and a half with Dermot, Helga and Dieter had convinced me that the Fae could be downright treacherous.

"It seems as if it was safe for me. And the spell seems to have ended. From my standpoint, I think the risk was to Niall, Sookie. His having had my blood means I will always be able to find him, to track him. Let's just say that if anything had happened to you, he already knew that it would be a serious problem for _him_."

"I think you were very trusting," I said. And a few days in the company of Dieter would make anyone feel that way about the Fae, I thought to myself. "If you think he left you with any advantage over him, I'd think you're wrong, Eric." I said this with great conviction, thought I couldn't quite pinpoint why.

He rested his hand over his mouth thoughtfully. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Well, it was the only choice we had. The only way to go in and break down their magic enough so that all the other vampires could enter relatively safely."

"But what about the coven? All those witches? Claudine said that they were there beforehand, weakening the energy for their magic. I actually felt it drop steadily. I felt his power over my mind recede before you even came into the room."

"I think the bulk of damaging Dieter and Helga's magic was really Niall. Personally, I just can't believe that a bunch of chanting witches could do _anything_ to Dieter. Maybe they could slightly impair his glamour on you, but in terms of what he could muster to defend himself? No. With seventeen witches, a room full of iron, Niall's magic and finally even Thalia helping me to corner him, it still took more than ten minutes to kill him once I had him, Sookie."

"Tell me how you found out what was going on, what you all actually did, what happened in that room."

He studied me carefully. "Are you sure it won't make it worse?" He sat with his elbows on the table, fingers steepled and pressed to his lips. His gaze seemed to seep into me, softly. It almost felt as if he was searching inside me, but gently so. I had become much more aware of such things since Dieter, I realized. Much more aware of someone trying to search for my feelings, my thoughts. Perhaps the bond hadn't been affected, I realized. Perhaps _I _have learned to be evasive and to shield myself. As self-defense.

Would going back and reliving the events of the past few days make it better or worse, I asked myself? I had overheard Claudine saying to Amelia that I was having nightmares. I didn't want to stay in a dark room to sleep. I had learned what it was to be very, _very_ afraid in the past few days. I had learned the courage to fight back even against insurmountable odds, but also to recognize that in some scenarios, I might not be worth the risk of saving.

I looked down and could sense almost the same concern from him that I had picked up on with Claudine. That I might not fully get out of this psychological place I had been left in. That the inner scars, which I already had recognized, might not heal. But I couldn't help but dwell on it, I thought to myself. What could they expect? It was better to know. Maybe it would put an end to it somewhere in my mind. Maybe seeing it from the outside would let me move on. Or maybe those scars inside me would better prepare me to move forward.

"I'd rather know what happened. How you found me, how you fought. Not discussing it won't help me."

He nodded soberly. Then he began to tell me of things from Sam's first message to him, saying that I had gone missing, Amelia's reconstruction, the fight with Niall here in the house, Amelia's idea, Calvin, Mel Hart's murder, Preston's return, Alcide's offer of help. He paused as he got to the part where they actually implemented their plan at the compound. At Alcide's arrival with Preston at Dieter's compound. He looked at me carefully, as if to assess something. I knew he thought of Quinn. Alcide's job had obviously been to lure out Quinn and clearly Preston had morphed into wolf form to create some kind of diversion to get Quinn outside. But Eric seemed uncomfortable moving forward on the topic of Quinn. Finally he said,

"Lover, I don't want to upset you. But I want to tell you clearly, so that you know… if Quinn kept you safe from Dieter, no matter how that was accomplished, all that would matter to me was your safety." His gaze was gentle, but regretful.

I blushed. His implication was clear. He thought I had slept with Quinn to get him to keep Dieter away from me?

"Eric, Quinn tried to avoid leaving me alone with Dieter. At dawn, he carried me off to a room that he and I slept in, but he…" I gasped then, and burst into the tears that I hadn't been able to shed before. He had protected me. Even though he was so angry at me, even though he hated Eric, and thought that I had betrayed him by getting more involved with Eric thought I was supposed to be dating him, he _had _protected me. And now he was very dead.

Eric rose and then came and knelt next me, putting his arm around me. "Sookie, all that matters is that he kept you safe. Dieter… even if you had lived, he would have damaged you. Physically, mentally, emotionally. There is nothing that you could do to avoid that happening to you that would be wrong in my eyes. Absolutely nothing. Remember, I have _seen_ what Dieter could do…"

I met his eyes. How bad could Dieter be that Eric, who was so possessive, would not care… Geez, I thought, still crying.

"No you don't understand… John didn't do anything to me, Eric. He tried to get me to eat, to drink. He put ice on my face. He said he was sorry, that he would try to get Dieter to give me to him, when everything was done, so that I could go home. Ha, so naïve, right…? But even though he was so angry at me, and absolutely hated you, he never laid a hand on me. He never tried. He did… many things wrong. But not that."

Eric looked at me sadly. He said softly, "Perhaps you cared for him more than I realized…"

"I cared for him in the sense that he tried, especially at the end, to be decent with me. I wonder now if he cared for me more than I had for him. But really, when that head rolled through that door, Eric, my only thoughts were… so _very_ shameful. That now there was no one to protect me from Dieter…" tears just spilled down my face and I closed my eyes. I saw Frannie and his mother. Would they even know what had happened to him? It was so sad. Even if what he was doing was so wrong, he was still someone's son, someone's brother.

Nonetheless, thoughts of Quinn killing Andre, offering to try to kill Eric, suggesting that Dieter try to kill Eric did play in my mind. The Nevada takeover, which had resulted in Sophie-Anne's death. And Sophie-Anne had treated him with respect, so unusual for a were to experience among vampires, I thought to myself. All the plotting to harm vampires with Dieter, and before that, his dislike of vampires, when really, I had thought to myself so many times, it was actually _humans_ who had harmed his mother. Though vampires had exploited him in their offer to help cover up Quinn's killing of her attackers when he had been fifteen and then his poor mentally unstable mother's more recent rages.

Eric rose and looked down at me oddly. He turned away, then got himself a True Blood out of the refrigerator and set it to heat in the microwave. When he finally sat down across from me, I sensed he was troubled.

I sniffled and asked, a tear rolling down my cheek and then splashing onto the kitchen table, "What's wrong? You're troubled by something. What's wrong?"

He looked at the bottle, not at me, turning it in his hands instead of drinking. Then he finally looked up.

"You aren't telling something. Every time you talk about Quinn, I feel it. You aren't telling me something _you_ think important. I've sensed it time after time. Going back months. Even when I was going to take you to meet Niall."

I looked down and sighed. I had carried the burden too long and there was no point anymore, though I suppose some might consider it speaking ill of the dead.

I looked up and said with a grimace, "He killed Andre, Eric." Then I had to look away. It was still so awful to me because I felt guilty about it. "In Rhodes. After the bombing. I had found Andre in the rubble and I walked away and left him. I left Andre to chance. I didn't feel motivated to help him but I certainly wouldn't have harmed him by my own hand. I figured he had a good chance of surviving, because I had just found Bill nearby and then John. The EMTs had taken Bill and were coming back for John. Andre was nearby. After John saw that I walked away from Andre, he crawled over to him and… he staked him. He did it for me. To protect me. I mean, I guess that was his thought. I'd told him repeatedly that the bond was Andre's fault, not yours. I saw him do it from a distance. But… I did nothing to stop him…" I gasped. Part of me just felt like something had gone morally wrong inside me, all centered on a turning point around John Quinn. I'd watched him kill a defenseless man and hadn't tried to stop him, and I'd seen him die and was more concerned about myself than what had happened to him.

Eric looked genuinely surprised, and then I immediately began to feel the flood of anger. He was silent for a moment and then muttered "The fucking bastard. Sophie-Anne was so gracious with him. He killed Andre and then participated in the takeover. The miserable fucking bastard…"

He sat still, focusing intensely and I felt a wave of immense aggression from him. I looked away, thinking he must be reliving the moment when Quinn's life ended. I cringed internally. He glanced up at me, almost angrily, as if I was put off with him for no good reason.

"What I did was far more merciful than what Felipe would have done with him, Sookie. He did not suffer." He sounded as if he almost regretted that last part.

I nodded sadly. I knew he was right. And I knew he had earned his fate. But I really didn't want to know anymore about it.

He looked over at me and said, "It wasn't your fault. You chose not to harm Andre even though you felt he had harmed you. And it's not like you could expect to pull Quinn off of him, if he attacked Andre. That was his choice. You walked away from harming him. Let it go. The one who's responsible is Quinn, and that's done."

I nodded, still not exactly convinced. "What about the rest? Did Thalia really kill Helga? I saw her stab her."

"Yes, she did. She fought her and practically covered her with iron then finally killed her. Helga was pretty damn strong. The plan was that she would go after Helga and I would go after Dieter, who was far stronger. After she finished with Helga, she helped me with Dieter because killing him was tough work. He fought hard. But she helped me pin him a corner and then I let the beauty of Scandinavian steel do its work. After that I got at least another eight in the room. I got thirteen on my own in total, if I'm very generous and share Dieter with Thalia." He said this last part with a smile, sounding very pleased with himself.

He had killed _thirteen_ fairies on his own? I really didn't want to think about what Eric must have been like as a Viking… But what about the others who fought?

"But everyone with you was okay, right?" I asked.

He looked at me soberly and shook his head. "No, Sookie. Everyone was not okay." He paused and then said, "Two of the three Arkansas vampires died. Indira is dead. And Bill is…"

I gasped "_No!_" horrified, sitting up sharply.

He reached out and took my hand and said, "… gravely _injured_. He fought a large German fairy who had a bronze sword, which was unaffected by Niall's magic. He was an excellent swordsman and Bill had only the pike. I killed that one. Pam found Bill still alive when we were mopping up. We thought he had been killed but he was buried under debris and bodies. He had almost bled out, but he will recover. He is buried in the Magnolia cemetery. We sealed him into a crypt so he can't do anything but rest and recover. We will go and get him in another day or two. He will be very weak for some time. He was almost decapitated and had other wounds. He was incapacitated by his injuries and very lucky to have survived. But he will recover." He looked at me curiously as if surprised I was so affected by the news about Bill.

I slumped back into my chair, with my hand over my mouth, feeling queasy. Yes, they fought to avert a war, but they'd all ended up there because of _me_. Poor Indira, I thought. She had been curiously fierce and loyal, in such a polite and polished little package. She had been so lovely and always so nice to me, even when I was just the human visiting the bar with Bill. And Bill. His wound sounded so ghastly. Just because vampires heal doesn't mean they don't feel the pain of an injury. It was just horrible to think of him being so grievously wounded.

I was silent for several minutes. Then finally I asked him that had been on my mind ever since I had gotten my hard won reprieve.

"There are more aren't there? Niall has still more enemies among the Fae, doesn't he?"

Eric just looked at me silently.

I proving to be so much trouble, I thought to myself. When he took the risk of bonding me to him, he really had no idea what a charming history he was tying himself to at that time. I remembered that in Rhodes he had said to me that I was 'a mystery' and that it _was_ his business because he had tied himself to me. Little had he known… The thought of what he had committed himself to just made me sad.


	13. Chapter 13

**XIII.**

It was shortly after 9 o'clock, on Tuesday night. Eric and I would be leaving for Las Vegas on Thursday evening. I hadn't been back to work because Sam and presumably Eric, were refusing to let me, saying I needed to rest and recover before going to Vegas. My living room wall had been repaired and re-plastered the day before and the entire room had received a fresh coat of paint today. Alcide had visited in the evening and brought me a pretty bouquet and a little gift bag with nail polishes that he said was from his sister Janice. He said he'd been meaning to give it to me for several weeks but hadn't had a chance to come see me with all the fuss of the Were Revelation.

Earlier in the day on Tuesday an alarm system was installed, with several keypad panels and panic buttons discreetly located throughout the house. The list of contact numbers dialed when the alarm was triggered was substantially longer than just the Bon Temps Police Department and included Sam, Bill, Eric, and Claudine. I didn't even ask about it. I was not in a position to argue. Eric had had Amelia redo the warding of the house and right now the only fairies who supposedly could enter without question were Claudine and Claude. I wasn't holding my breath on that one, though. I looked at it as keeping Amelia busy and productive and therefore not fussing about me. Claude had stayed with me, with relatively little grumbling, all day on Monday and Tuesday so Claudine could rest. He actually told me he was _now_ proud to be related to me. I threw a pillow at him after making a face. Fairies by day, vampires by night. They seemed concerned still about leaving me on my own. I didn't know whether it was because there was really anything else wrong or because they thought _I_ was worried. I didn't argue, though.

Pam stayed with me, while Eric, Bubba and Maxwell went to pick up Bill. She seemed distracted, and somewhat on edge. I tried to ask her if she was okay, but she was evasive. I related.

"Seriously, Pam, you seem really stressed. Is there anything I can do?"

"Everything is fine, Sookie. You look much better than you did on Sunday. Are you finally able to sleep better?"

Well, that was a question I didn't want to answer. Each of us wants to ask questions the other doesn't want to answer… Okay, then let's just avoid talking about anything, I thought to myself.

"Can I braid your hair? I want to try to do a French braid in your hair. I've been dying to do it for years. Your hair is so beautiful, Pam."

"I would let you." She scowled a bit, though, as if she thought she was being really indulgent.

"Good. I'm glad you'll _allow_ it, Pamela," I said seriously. "Let's sit over here."

I sat her down on the ottoman, went to get a brush and comb then climbed into the chair behind her. We watched TV instead of talking, and it seemed to take the edge off things a bit. About twenty minutes later, when I was just finishing, there was a knock at the door. Pam rose, went into high alert mode with fangs down, and pushed me firmly back into the seat. It had to be a vampire because we hadn't heard anyone coming in a car or such.

"Stay put," she hissed at me, giving me a look that said she meant business.

She went to the door and cautiously stood on the latch side, at the wall. Her hands curved into claws. Seeing her prepare for I fight, I got up and got my Benelli out of the closet and turned with it lodged against my shoulder, safety off, facing the door. Pam looked rather mad at me, but I didn't care. I might have learned to accept protection much more graciously but I had also learned that no one was going to do anything to me, or anyone I cared about, without getting a fight from me.

"Who is it? I called out.

"It's me. Thalia," said a quiet voice.

Pam said, "Are you alone?"

"On my own."

Pam seemed somehow satisfied with that answer. She unlatched the door and opened it, letting Thalia in and glancing around.

"You're sure you weren't followed then?" Pam said to her quietly.

"I left several changes of clothes along the way and since I came here instead of Shreveport, I think it's probably fine." Thalia looked over at me, as I lowered the shotgun and put the safety back on. She gasped with delight. "Oh, I wanted to see it. Pam told me about your shotgun." She waltzed over and took it out of my hands and practically caressed it. I looked down at her with amusement. It was almost as long as she was tall.

"I think you'd need a sawed-off shotgun, Thalia. My brother has one. I can ask him to borrow it and one day we can try practicing if you want, out back, toward the woods. We can't go to a range because those short-barreled guns are allowed only by special permit. But you can easily get a permit if you decide you like it."

Thalia grinned and nodded at the suggestion and continued to admire the shotgun.

Pam on the other hand, seemed almost hovering, which was totally unlike her. It was as if she was _very_ concerned about something. It was obvious that she would not talk to Thalia with me in the room and so, in the interest of getting her to be less stressed, I asked Thalia if she would like a True Blood.

"I'll have two. Not too warm." She might be tiny, but Thalia really packed away the blood, I had noted in the past.

Okay… I went off to the kitchen and heard hushed whispers. About two minutes later I called out,

"I'm headed back, ladies," just to be sure not to get any grief from Pam. Besides, I have to say, even though I kind of liked Thalia now, there's something about her that scared me a bit.

I handed Thalia her drink and swapped for the shotgun to give her the second one.

Thalia and Pam turned suddenly and Pam walked over to the front door and opened it slightly, clearly listening carefully. Suddenly, there was soft thump on the porch and I jumped and even they looked startled. I already had the shotgun raised again, safety off, when Eric strode through the door, his black coat swishing around him. He was dressed all in black, but I could still see traces of dirt on his pants legs.

"Whoa!" he said, looking at me, only a meter away with the shotgun pointed at his chest. He'd leaned back suddenly, eyes wide, hand up, though lower than the muzzle of the gun.

"Next time, maybe you should call out or something," I said lowering the gun. My heart was pounding. I had felt the warmth of his approach but not trusted that sensation alone. We were all so edgy these days.

Eric glanced at Pam and Thalia with one of those meaningful looks. I sighed. I was supposed to be totally in the dark about all of this stuff. Not knowing what I could do to excuse myself, I grasped at ideas. I had to confirm my schedule with Holly for my return. I could use that excuse to make a quick call in my room. So I said,

"Oh, you know, I forgot I have to go call my friend Holly about work. If you'll excuse me I'll be back in a few minutes." Pam looked at me like she didn't believe me in the least. Oh, she knows I know, I thought to myself. She knows that I know what's going on.

I padded off to my bedroom and spent all of about forty-five seconds on the phone with Holly because she and Hoyt were watching a movie. That clearly wasn't going to be enough time. I'd finished _Seabiscuit _earlier. I looked around the room, and finally settled on rereading _Jane Eyre_ to kill some time. I got all the way to Chapter 5, when Jane starts at Lowood, before Eric came looking for me.

"You should come and say good night to Pam and Thalia because they're headed back to Shreveport. Bill's here now, too. And Bubba," he said quietly.

I nodded and motioned that he should skedaddle back out and that I'd be out in a minute. I brushed my hair and put it up in a ponytail after changing into my LSU sweatshirt. I went back out into the living room to find Bill and Bubba sitting on the couch and Pam and Thalia waiting near the front door.

"I'm so sorry, I guess I kind of lost track of time," I said coming back out into the living room. Well, it was true. I could always lose myself in the bleakness of Jane Eyre's early life.

Pam eyed me and I knew she was not falling for that line for one minute. She knew me too well and was so observant. I took the opportunity to say hello to Bill and to Bubba, to whom I gave a quick hug.

"I'm real pleased to be here, Miss Sookie. I'm going to help Bill keep watch over you. And I promised Eric that if I kill anybody that I'll tell you right away. I won't hide anybody or anything. No matter what."

I saw Pam rolling her eyes.

"Why thank you, Bubba. It's going to be really nice to have you around again."

I looked at Bill. He just looked ghastly. So pale and drawn. He'd risen when I entered the room.

"Bill," I said, nodding. "I'm glad to see that you're recovering well. If you like, when you watch, you may stay inside or on the porch and then Bubba can keep watch around outside."

Bill looked at me with a bit of surprise but nodded, without saying anything.

Pam smiled and then abruptly said "Well, we need to get back to Shreveport. Thanks for all the True Blood and the hairstyling Sookie. Sorry you were just _so_ busy tonight on the phone." She smirked at me and I just smiled back at her. I gave her a hug, which she accepted with a bit of reserve, since the others were there. She went out onto the porch and waited for Thalia.

"Good night, Sookie," said Thalia nodding to me and then exiting.

Eric told Bubba to head on out and start keeping watch, and then with an odd look, he suggested to Bill that he might want to go check through his mail and email over at his place, as he had mentioned he needed to do. He said he'd let him know when he was leaving. Bill looked a bit pained but nodded to us both, rose and left. I still felt uncomfortable with the whole thing.

"Well, that wasn't very kind, Eric," I said with a grimace.

Eric looked at me intently and then said, with raised eyebrow, "It was kinder than making him stay and be within hearing distance, though, now wasn't it?"

**

* * *

  
**

We discussed Thalia's news, that she had staked Rasul, while we were lying in bed. My head was on Eric's shoulder and I held his hand, admiring the long fingers. Thalia thought Rasul was giving Victor Madden information about the raid on Magnolia. She had staked him, then captured a Were, rendered him unconscious, imbued the stake and Rasul's apartment with the Were scent, and then had taken the Were off and killed him, dumping the body in a bayou somewhere south of Baton Rouge, before heading back to the Shreveport area.

I found the entire description harrowing. I had liked Rasul, although Eric had pointed out many times that as the sole survivor in Sophie-Anne's camp during Felipe's takeover, that many people felt that Rasul was in on it all along. Eric had been inclined to trust that he hadn't been in on it. Of course, regardless of what Rasul might or might not have been up to during the takeover, I guess one had to take Thalia seriously on the fact that he appeared to be selling Eric and the other Area 5 vamps out to Victor Madden. But the Were had been some innocent bystander, whose family would no doubt look for him for weeks, months or maybe even years, before having any peace and closure.

Eric had told me two days before that it looked like Felipe was very displeased with the Magnolia raid. First, Robert Gawley, the Sheriff of Area 3 in Arkansas, was annoyed that Eric hadn't contacted him about the action in his Area and had complained bitterly to Felipe about it. Eric had apologized about that one, saying he fully understood the concern and would have been displeased if someone had mounted an action in his Area, too. But Felipe was most displeased that Eric appeared powerful enough to kill a lot of Fae, weres and Weres with a small 'army' that he had put together on his own. Eric said the use of the word 'army' on Felipe's part was indicative of the seriousness of his displeasure. Having small 'army' at your disposal was not a characteristic that a King would like in a Sheriff. Simply put, Felipe saw Eric as a potential rival and a serious threat, in spite of the fact that Eric really genuinely did not really have an interest in being a King. The success of the raid appeared to have raised Felipe's threat level with respect to Eric, and that in turn made our trip to Vegas, Felipe's home turf, a much more dangerous prospect. Which was how Eric came to tell me all these things that almost certainly his vampires would think I had no business knowing.

"She scares me," I told Eric, referring to Thalia.

"Why?"

"Because she's so…" I couldn't quite finish it… After all, she apparently was doing Eric's bidding on the issue.

"Ruthless?" he offered.

"Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it. I was going to say 'old school', since she's killing people beyond just other vampires who may be a political threat to your safety. I mean, I liked Rasul, but I can understand that within a certain moral corridor, you have a right to protect yourselves if he was putting all of you at risk. But the Were? The Were was just an innocent bystander. She sacrificed him, seemingly without a second thought, from what you're saying."

"Well, Sookie, if she was 'old school' as you call it, she would have kept him restrained in a basement somewhere and drained him every night for weeks and _then_ killed him. I think it was very modern this way," he said with wry look. "But I agree with you that Thalia is rather intense. Pam is still calling her an untrained pit bull behind her back. I think that as long as she is committed to protecting us as a group, she's well suited to the tasks I assign her precisely _because_ she is ruthless."

It pained me that I just couldn't agree with their choices. It was better not to discuss this stuff because it was only going to end up with Eric angry and claiming I was judgmental and didn't understand their ethos. At least that's what he had said the other night when he told me about Thalia's mission to Baton Rouge. Before she had killed two people.

"So where are you in the full explanation you've promised to give him when we get there?"

"I still don't know what to tell him about your role, why they took you."

"I was thinking about it today, and I really think that you should stick to the simple fact that I can usually read Weres and weres. That could make me kind of like a lie detector in a way. It would have given them the opportunity determine whether their supporters were genuine. Dieter actually tried to do that. But he knew when _I_ lied." I felt tight inside thinking about the poor werelynx. "John Quinn obviously knew that I could read Weres and weres. It's absolutely true, so it's easy to stick to the story for both of us."

"You're probably right."

"And what about explaining how you killed Dieter?"

"I'm a really good swordsman?" he chuckled.

"Where _is_ your sword by the way?"

"Ah, you see, I knew it…" he winked at me.

I pushed him and said, "No, seriously, come on. How long have you had it? Is it very old?"

"It's in my house, for safekeeping. It's old to you, but not all that old to me. That was a special longsword from about the late 1400's. It is not the only sword I own. I have two that are made by Ulfberht himself, dating from the era in which I lived. Some Viking swords were shorter and you have to get closer to fight your opponent. Not something I was interested in with Dieter. The sword I used is unusually long. About four feet long. It is quite heavy, but very effective. And of course, it's cold forged steel."

"Hmm." I said. "I'd like to see them sometime," I said, kissing his chest. I was rather curious to see Eric's house. I had seen Pam's back when Eric had stayed with me during the Witch War. I wondered if Eric's was any more distinctive. Perhaps not, however. Vampires are very… guarded. They don't want to give anyone insight into anything personal.

"When we return, I'll show them to you. In the era in which I lived, owning such swords was the mark of great wealth and power. Only jarls, and gothi, or chieftains, owned swords."

"Where did you live in Sweden?" I had so often wondered.

"On an island named Björkö, the birch island, in Lake Mälaren. My family fought for the Kings for many generations. We lived well, in a village called Birka, across from Hovgården, where the king resided, on the neighbouring island of Adelsö. The village was destroyed in 962 AD. That was some years after my human life had ended. In a fight between Christians and vampires near Lake Mälaren, I was forced to fight my own people by my maker. He was a cruel man, my sire."

"How long were you with him?" I asked, propping myself up to look at him. His face looked dark and hard.

"I killed him the following year. I had had my fill. I would not do the things he asked of me. It was a long battle. He thought he would wear me down, but instead he bred my hatred of him. A bond that is based on hatred and compulsion is a dangerous thing."

A bond. I sighed. I was really hoping that if all the furor from the Magnolia raid could just die down, that we could have a brief period of relaxation. No shootings, no sixteen hour work days, no kidnappings, no raids, no life or death situations. I wanted to relax, and laugh and go dancing. And after that, maybe, just maybe, I could get Eric to tell me about _our_ bond. Because trying to get any further info about the bond out of him the past few days was like the proverbial getting blood from a stone. Har har.

Eric seemed to pick up on the fact that I was thinking about it yet again. I was having trouble with some things and I didn't know quite how to express it. For one thing, it was making me really uncomfortable that when we would have sex, I really had to stop myself from wanting to bite him. We'd been together three times in the past week and the first time I did bite him and the other two times I'd wanted to. After tonight, I'd come to see that it was really something _not me_ that was creating the urge. It was the bond. It was like a living, magical thing that existed between the two of us. I'd thought about how Dieter had sensed it. He'd said I was bound by choice to Eric. But the bond hadn't been by real choice, in my eyes. I mean, sure, I'd chosen Eric over Andre. But I had no choice in being bound to one of them. But these days, whatever the bond actually was, it didn't feel the same to me as it had all those months before. The connection between us felt smoother, lighter, and even when Eric was angry or tense, which had happened a lot in the few days, I felt insulated from it. And I perceived that somehow, just as I felt his presence soothing in the months after the bond, that he, too, felt somehow soothed by my presence. At first I thought maybe it was just the relief of being able to talk about the stress of the situation with Felipe, but now I had begun to see that the talking part wasn't really central to things. It was as if just being together had a mutual effect on one another.

My mind just raced even though I knew I was doing little more than getting myself worked up over something that wasn't likely to be answered right now. So, I told myself, quit wasting time. Eric would probably need to leave soon anyway, to go check things at the club and attend to business. It was hard when he left. Now I really missed him when he was gone. I should really be focusing on enjoying his being here, instead of spinning my mind into some question-driven frenzy.

"Alright. Just ask," he said softly, shaking his head. "I can't stand it when you get like this. If this is how it feels in you, I don't know how _you _can stand it."

"What is it? The bond. What is it? Really."

He sighed, which was not like him.


	14. Chapter 14

**XIV.**

He turned onto his side and propped himself up. He looked at me like he was certain it was not going to go over well.

"Okay, first, you need to understand the blood. Blood is everything. To a vampire blood is _everything_. It drives most of what you do in your waking life. It animates everything. It feeds the magic that makes you vampire. There is a link whenever one has a vampire's blood, which you already know exists. I give you my blood, I can feel you, I can find you, I know you. Even if it is just a drop, in my case, because I am so old. And the more you have of my blood, the stronger that link becomes. So all those times you got a bit, when we were lovers before, and the other times, on top of the larger amount you had in Jackson, it was all about my knowing, my _feeling,_ more and more of you. Which is why it was so confusing after Hallow's curse broke and I had no memory of what had happened. Whenever I saw you, I plugged into all those feelings _from_ you. But the bond… the whole idea of a blood bond is to put someone in permanent thrall. For anyone else, other than you, having had even small amounts of my blood would have put them in thrall to me. I could dominate them, control them, for a time, until the effects fade. With a blood bond, it would be permanent. The bond that Andre tried to force on you- getting you to agree to drink his blood and he yours, would work, but it works better if there is a prior connection, a previous thrall. That's why he went for my idea. We already had a connection. The basic idea of a permanent thrall is to _enslave_ someone, Sookie. To make them do your bidding without any thought, without any concern other than the vampire's wishes. It is a way to create a _slave_."

I was just chilled. I stiffened next to him. He continued, stroking my side idly, trying to soothe me.

"But that assumes that you are enthralled in the first place. No glamour, as you can see, means no thrall. But how does the enslavement work? It creates all these feelings between the person enthralled and the vampire. It can be based on fear, on devotion, it depends on what exists between the two and what is brought to bear. If feelings were already there, it amplifies them. So if you can't be compelled, because there's no thrall, then you're just left with… the feelings you have between the two individuals. You can hate someone you're bound to. You can love them. But whatever you feel, it will be stronger."

"But what does the vampire feel?" I asked.

"Normally, the vampire who creates the blood bond feels in control, the urge to dominate. This is like the bond a sire has with a child, except perhaps less so, since a child is your own kind and there is more incentive to protect your child, unless you have created it for a specific task and then discard it. Normally, the vampire looks at the control over a blood bonded person as almost playing with a toy. It is like a kind of superglamour. You have someone who will do your bidding, no matter what you ask of them. Which is part of why the idea of you being bound to Andre was impossible. He would have killed you. He never would have accepted that you were not enthralled. You already disliked him, feared him. All of it would have been amplified and you would not have done his bidding. You already had a taste of how that works with Dieter, right? It does not make powerful people happy when you do not do their bidding, resist their glamour and they feel your hatred. Andre definitely would have killed you."

"But you don't care that you can't glamour me. You haven't really tried to control me. Not seriously." I said, almost puzzled.

"Well, I glamoured you in Jackson when you were staked, so I know it's possible to glamour you if you _allow_ it. But no, I don't care. In fact, in a perverse way, I like it. I like it that you can't be glamoured if you don't wish to be. Because obviously everything you feel or do with me is genuine. It took getting used to but I realized after Jackson, that I really liked it. And I always liked you. From the moment you told me you were _not_ sweet, I liked you. When you told me off after the maenad attacked you and you'd had that drop of my blood from biting my hand, I _really_ enjoyed you. I liked your humor and your courage. And it just grew from there, as I had gotten you to have a bit more of my blood every time. My only concern with making the bond was whether or not I had made you really hate me for the way I had acted throughout the year, after I had left your gentle care. And I didn't even know the half of it, because I didn't really remember it" he said with a rueful laugh. "How you didn't hate me was a testament to how much you loved me. I knew what it was to have bond that rang with hatred. But imagine my delight. I liked how it felt. I knew in time you would like it, too. And then it was more than liking. Much more."

"But the bond feels different now than it did then. Why does it change if it doesn't fade. If it's permanent who can it change."

"It can change and grow in strength. More of my blood increases the strength of the bond. But also, _you_ changed the bond, Sookie. The very first chance you allow me to be with you again and you go and make another exchange…" he started laughing. He rolled on top of me and looked at me almost merrily. "But this is better. Our blood was happier in the making of it a second time."

"But if I'm not enslaved, what does it _mean_ Eric?"

"You're mine," he said quickly and sharply. His eyes glowed a bit as he lay above me.

"You're just so annoying." I elbowed him.

"No, I mean really, Sookie. _Mine_. No other vampire would think otherwise. You clearly belong to me. Any vampire who meets you will know that you are bound. Even Dieter, who was Fae, could tell because the magic of the bond is so strong, because it is based on strong emotions. There are those who choose a human partner and bind that partner to themselves. To me the problem is that if the person is in your thrall then you really have to question how genuine the attachment is. I would not like to enthrall a partner. But to bind a genuine partner who wishes to be with you. That is unique. Most bonds are really to create a slave, not a lover. That was why Felipe thought our bond was interesting. Clearly, you do not look too enslaved, so the only conclusion is that you are bound to me because of some emotional tie. I'm sure he thinks that it is a way to control your gift skillfully, by pleasing you, to make you perform better as a telepath or that it's some other manipulation of you. But simply put, in the context of my world, you are completely mine."

"Okay, so then, that's it? I'm yours. And that's it."

"Well, there is the fidelity thing…"

I rolled my eyes. "Are you going to make up some bullshit? Because I'll ask Pam if I think you're making stuff up, Eric. I swear I will." I pushed as if to get him off me.

"As if she'd know… No, I'm serious." He looked me in the eyes. "You're pretty much ruined for anyone else, Sookie. It's why I was willing to wait. So you could be sure of your feelings. Because it's a serious commitment."

"I seem to have heard that one from you before," I said shaking my head. "Ruined for humans…"

"Not just for humans. Just think about it. Think about how you feel. It is like the difference between seeing in color and seeing only in pale shades of gray. But on the other side, my side, it is not so different. I _crave_ you. You, your blood, your scent, your touch, your voice… you have no idea. Vampires have much stronger desires than humans. And a bond as strong as ours can be like an addiction. To be apart can be painful. To suffer loss… would be very difficult."

"Well, I still don't understand the urge to bite _you_. I don't understand where that came from. I don't like it and I want it to stop."

His eyes looked down into mine. That was more than enough for the present was the message I got from those eyes. He kissed me and rose to dress.


	15. Chapter 15

**XV.**

It was Wednesday. Claudine arrived late, at 7:45 am, a full hour after sunrise. She apologized profusely for having overslept. She could feel how edgy I was but I told her I was fine with being alone. My edginess had nothing to do with not having some supernatural protection every single moment of my day. I was nervous about the visit. Part of me was really reconsidering the whole thing. I was starting to think that being too forgiving, probably with either vampires or the Fae, could really get you into a load of trouble.

She tried to soothe me by brushing my hair. She put two fine braids in my hair, on either side of my face. I looked in the mirror and told jokes about Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings. She was psychic, but also telepathic and could project her thoughts into the minds of others. Talk about suffering. That would be a really awful life to read peoples minds, know the future and have to decide what you tell them? No thank you. She was an elf. I tried to ask Claudine if elves were different from fairies but she was pretty evasive about whether they were still Fae. Well, that confirmed that they exist. How much else was out there? Genies, demons and elves were all real.

We sat out back for a while. The weather was mild and in the low sixties. It was really starting to feel like spring. My daffodils were going to bloom soon. I rocked and tried not to feel too apprehensive. I looked at the four ashy smudges on my wrist, and the one on the underside from Helga's thumb. Part of me thought I should just live with them, as a good reminder. I had repainted my nails with one of the polishes that Janice had given me. A nice medium red. I was wearing an old indigo sweater and a pair of dark denims. I had socks on my feet but hadn't worn shoes out side on the porch. My socks were soon dirty and I thought to myself that later on I should really get out here and sweep the porch and maybe mop it down.

We didn't talk much. Amelia came out to chat briefly and then said she was going into Shreveport to do some shopping. Time dragged on. We talked about _Seabiscuit_. Amelia had rented the movie for us to watch. Claudine was looking forward to it. She really liked animals of all kinds. She wondered why we didn't get another cat after Bob left. I explained about Bubba and she looked very appalled. I was actually pretty sure that if I told him not to hurt a cat of mine, he wouldn't. Bubba really liked me. But after my Tina was killed by Rene, I just didn't think I could go through that again. Too many things can happen with supes in your life.

At 9:45 am I went inside and poured myself another cup of coffee. Claudine wrinkled her nose as she looked down at me sipping it. She liked some human food, especially anything sweet, but said coffee was a dreadful disappointment, since it smelled good but tasted awful to her. I sat at the kitchen table watching the clock.

At precisely 10 am, there was a knock on the front door. I took a deep breath but didn't rise from the table. Claudine looked at me as if worried. I took one more breath and then rose and headed to the front door.

Niall filled the doorway. He looked down on me with his piercing green eyes. It was a hopeful look he gave me, I had to admit. I just nodded to him and gestured that he should come in. I already felt like my eyes were tearing. At least he did not try to hug or kiss me as he usually did. I wouldn't have taken it well. But instead of passing into the house, he gestured to me to step outside.

"Child," he said motioning that I should step out. He turned and I gave a little gasp. He took my hand as I took one step out the door to see Dermot standing on the lowest porch step. I looked away and felt myself trembling. I felt even more like crying but the tears wouldn't release themselves. They had not told me that Dermot would come along.

Dermot was held securely by two huge fairies. They were even taller than Eric and they looked like they were guarding him closely. Dermot's eyes were downcast, his face looked haggard, and he would not look at me. Leaning against one of the porch pillars was Preston, who met my gaze straight on, with a soft smile. Niall nodded to him and he stepped forward and knelt on one knee and took my hand while Niall still held the other. I felt exceedingly uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Preston looked up at me and said, "I beg your forgiveness. I wronged you. Not once, but twice."

Then the tears began to flow and I could only nod to him. After glancing at Niall, who I could see out of the corner of my eye nodded to him again, Preston rose, kissed my hand and stepped away.

"Dermot," Niall prompted sternly.

Dermot looked up and regarded me with dark eyes, defiantly. I just looked away. He wasn't sorry, so we could drop the pretense as far as I was concerned.

"What shall I do with him Sookie? I don't know whether to let him live or not. What do you think?" He looked down at me with no more emotion than as if he was trying to decide what shade of paint we were going to paint a wall. So emotional about his own son, I thought. How long had they been like this, I wondered. I guess centuries, based on what Eric had told me about them.

I looked up at him and said firmly, "That's your problem. And you're not going to make it mine." I let go of his hand and turned, walking back into the house.

I sat down in an armchair in the living room. A few moments later, Niall entered and passed by me to sit on the couch. I assume he had sent Dermot away, for which I could only be grateful. Now I had to make my grandmother's memory in me happy. I had to be polite.

"Would you like anything to drink, Grandfather?"

"No, child, no thank you. You look well. You have healed quickly."

And then an odd thing happened. He _did_ look emotional, looking at me just then. Only, I didn't know what to say to him. I glanced away, but another tear rolled down my cheek. I really wished that Claudine would come into the living room, but she had remained in the kitchen as if she had been instructed that we were to be left alone. I felt acutely uncomfortable.

"I am glad that you agreed to see me. I realize that you have been through… much. I know too from Claudine that you are ambivalent about seeing me. I have come to see that I had made certain assumptions. Assumptions about knowing what was appropriate to you. Assumptions about what… or who, was important to you. I find myself in the uncomfortable position of apologizing to you."

I turned to him and started to speak and then bit my tongue. Sharp replies were not going to make things any better, I told myself.

Finally I said the softer version of what was in my mind. "I really don't know what to say, Grandfather. About any of it. About Preston, or Dermot, especially about Dieter. I was just unprepared… to know any of you. Other than Claudine and Claude. I did not understand before. Now I think maybe I understand too well."

I leaned on the arm of the armchair slightly and looked away, out the living room windows. It was shaping up to be a sunny day. I wanted to be anywhere but here.

For several minutes we were both silent and then finally he said,

"I should have let myself be guided by Claudine. She knows you well. She understands you. She has had more time to know you."

"She made the effort," I said, cutting him off. My hand went to my mouth. It seemed that sharp words were all that came to mind.

He looked stung at that remark.

"Eric has told me that he told you."

"Told me what?" I was not falling into any trap there…

Niall glanced toward the kitchen and then made a gesture of sweeping something down from above. I felt this odd sensation surround me.

"What is that?" I asked quickly.

"A way to speak privately. Eric told me he told you of the magic I used that night. He said that he told you because you were angry that he had entered the room, with Dieter, alone and unprotected."

He hasn't told me that he had told you that, I thought to myself. I wondered if that blood magic thing was really ended or if Niall had tricked Eric into something that would remain with him permanently, like some kind of surveillance. With my face resting on my hand I regarded him coolly, waiting.

"You do not trust me, Sookie?"

"I don't know. I'm not finding much to trust in anyone these days. Other than a very few people."

"He did tell me. He called me to tell me after you were asleep that night. I asked him not to discuss it further with you. That I would answer any further questions you had about it."

I was still silent, looking at him with the best poker face I could muster.

Finally he said, "I find you very changed. Quite remarkably. You are much less open."

Dieter could change anyone, I thought to myself. I was still silent.

"You seem to be suspicious of my motives in discussing the subject. I assure you that I mean you, and Eric, no harm. It was a very old kind of magic. Blood magic is part of the old way. I would not have the younger among my kind use it, and misconstrue its immense power. Like the magic of vampires, it can be misused in the wrong hands. I think you can understand this based on how you came to be bonded to Eric."

I looked away. I could do without his discussing Eric. Yet he continued.

"I have to admit I was very surprised he told you. Each time I deal with him, I am reminded he is a person of some honor. It is surprising in his kind. I have known him for centuries. I suppose I should know better by now. He said he did not wish you to think ill of me because of something that was untrue."

That did sound like Eric. It pretty much paraphrased what he had said to me. Perhaps Eric had talked to him. I still didn't know and wouldn't until he was awake and I could call him and ask him.

"Things between you seem very different from when I met you in November."

Well, I was _not_ going to discuss my relationship to Eric with him. There was simply no way.

"Grandfather, what do you want from me. I mean _really_, what do you want? This whole thing of meeting me, not meeting Jason, telling me only a bit of information, not telling me what I might really need to know, like I should look out for being kidnapped by my own great-uncle and being given to one of your worst enemies as some sort of bargaining chip and that your enemies could be sadistic and cruel? What the _hell _do you want with me?"

He winced. "I wanted to know you. You are my family and I simply wanted to know you. Claudine spoke so highly of you. So I wanted to meet you. To know you."

"If I was so great that you wanted to get to know me, why didn't you tell me more about what I needed to know? Why didn't I get the memo on the fact that knowing you could almost get me or someone I love killed?"

"I really thought you were safe. Preston was a miscalculation. The Weres I hired talked to Dieter's group. They have been dealt with. Preston, as I see it, was truly entrapped and he tried to make amends. He will serve you faithfully should we ever have the need. He is very fond of you."

I just shook my head. "So basically, you just want me forgive you, then right? Then you can just leave me alone? Do you want to get rid of the silence thing, so that Claudine can hear me forgiving you, or is my saying it like this enough for you?"

He looked at me piercingly. "You are still so angry…"

"Do you have _any idea_ what I went through? And if it wasn't enough that I was going through it, I thought someone I loved, maybe more than one, was going to _die_ because of me? I really don't think that angry even begins to approach how I feel. A woman I know died fighting to get me back. My former lover almost died and probably will be weak for _years_ because of me. I realize that when you're so old and have seen so much, that my take on things may seem petty, or naïve, or not so grand in the scheme of things and it may not be of any real consequence to you. But you know what, you're right. Maybe you should just ask Claudine about how I feel. It will save us both time. Maybe it will get into your mind a little more smoothly so you don't have to strain yourself by trying to understand humans. I feel betrayed. I feel badly used by family I never sought out and had no idea I should fear. I feel suspicious of you and whatever motivated you to walk into my life."

I stood up and walked into some sort of cloudy mist. "Can you get rid of this thing?" I asked him.

He rose. "Sookie, I am so very sorry. I am… so proud that you are my great-granddaughter. I am so proud of you. What you have of our blood, of my blood, you have in such great fierceness. You are so brave, even though I know this experience made you feel so terribly vulnerable. And yet you fight like you are made of steel. When I first saw you, I was intrigued. Something of your appearance reminds me of Einin, who delighted me. And yet you are her opposite in so many ways. So strong, so unyielding. When I saw you through his eyes, fighting back against Dieter, throwing Dieter's glamour back in his face… You amazed me. You amazed everyone. It made me so proud that you were my great-granddaughter. To be so afraid and yet so unyielding to such a force as Dieter… There is something in you, in large measure, that is Brigant to the very core."

I turned and just stared at him. "You'll have to forgive me for thinking that's not such a _good _thing."

"I hope in time, you will think otherwise. And that you will find it in your heart to forgive."

"If you want my forgiveness, I'll give it to you. I forgive you for not understanding the slightest thing about me." I turned back and tried again to exit the misty curtain-y thing.

"Is there nothing that I can do for you, or give you to make up for what has happened?"

I stiffened and turned slowly, nodding. "As a matter of fact, there is one thing…"


	16. Chapter 16

**XVI.**

Shortly after 7 pm that night, I sat on the front porch rocking with Bill. He was drinking a True Blood and I drank a cup of chamomile tea. Bubba was probably off chasing small animals. I tried not to think about it.

Bill and I didn't talk much. It was a bit awkward, but I guess it was for him as well. I guess I couldn't say that I'd actually forgiven Bill for _everything_. But I guess you get to a point where you have to let things go, even if you decide you'll remember a few of them to be on the safe side. You just don't take them to heart as much.

"So, you're pretty much ready to travel tomorrow night then?" I asked him. As the maker of the all famous vampire database, Bill was, of course, an invitee to Felipe's fêtes.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"Are you well enough to travel?" I asked him, turning to look at him. He still did not look great.

"Yes, and it will be easier to get real blood there, so it's better to go." He said it with a real hungry edge to his voice.

I nodded. Now that Selah had left for Little Rock, I'd seldom seen Bill out with anyone regularly. For just an instant I thought about the possibility of giving him some of my blood but then was immediately grossed out by the thought. That had to be the bond, I thought to myself. Even in an emergency situation, the only person I could possibly see Eric being okay with my giving my blood to would be Pam. Even then, I was sure it would not be something that would thrill him. _Blood is everything_, I reminded myself. To Eric, to any vampire. The vital force, sustenance. Not something to be given away lightly because you feel sorry for someone.

Bill glanced over and said, "You know Thalia's coming now, right?"

I shook my head. "No, I didn't know." I wondered where she was staying. With us or with Bill? Surely since all the preparations had been made months before, she was going to have to share a room with one of us. Bill seemed to pick up on my thoughts.

"Don't worry. She's staying with me. Eric's having her come because I'm still not very strong. In case anything happens she can even out the odds."

"I like Thalia," I said quietly. "But she scares me."

"She does what she needs to do. She's good at it. She has no qualms."

"Well, I hope she doesn't ever decide _I'm_ a liability…" I said with a nervous laugh.

Bill turned to me. "You will never be a liability, Sookie. To any of us."

He turned suddenly toward the drive and Hummingbird Road and put up his hand to silence me. After studying the sound for a moment, he said.

"That will be Eric." He seemed sadly resigned to the fact, I thought to myself.

I just nodded.

He hesitated for a moment as if deciding whether or not to say something.

"He understands you better than I did," he said finally.

I looked at him. He still looked drawn from his injuries and though he was seemingly physically whole, he seemed very weary. But some of it was beyond just the physical injuries.

I nodded and said softly, "He does understand me, Bill."

He looked at me sadly, without further comment, and then rose. Eric's car was starting down the drive. Even I could hear it now, though I could not have told that it was his car. As he drew closer, I could feel the growing warmth of his presence, and I smiled.

Eric parked the Corvette in front and got out and to the porch in one move so swift it was gone in the blink of an eye. He and Bill greeted each other with a nod and simply saying each other's names.

"Well, I'm going into town for a while. If you could let me know about twenty minutes before you need to leave?" Bill asked Eric.

Eric nodded. Bill was going out looking for blood obviously, I thought to myself.

As Bill quickly departed Eric turned to hug me and pulled up short, eyes slightly wide.

"What are you wearing? What is that, under your sweatshirt?"

I took out the heavy platinum locket with the raised Celtic knot pattern intertwining a 'B' that was set with tiny emeralds.

"My Grandfather gave it to me."

Eric just stared at it, his eyes even wider. "That is a highly magical object, Sookie. And I'm hoping it's…"

"It's platinum. Not silver. Don't worry. You can touch it. I made sure before I accepted it."

He gingerly picked it up and held it in his right hand. Then he looked me in the eye and said,

"So I'm guessing things are better between you and Niall, then?"

"Better? I don't know how much better. We have come to a better understanding I suppose."

He turned it over and back. "What's inside?"

"_Magic_," I said, my own eyes wide and with a smile. I took it back and put it inside my shirt.

He looked at me and laughed a bit. He picked up my wrist and looked surprised when he slipped back my sleeve and saw the ashy scars from Helga's burn still there.

"He couldn't remove them?" Eric asked sounding a bit taken aback.

"I didn't ask. I think I'll keep them. At least for a while longer."

He met my eyes and nodded slightly, though I felt some puzzlement from him. I took his hand and pulled him inside.

"Did you call him and tell him that you told me what you two did that night at Dieter's compound?" I asked Eric.

"Yes, I told him. We talked after you fell asleep on Saturday. I wanted to explain to him why I felt I had to tell you. I wasn't certain if he would be angry, and I didn't want him to be angry at you for knowing."

"I don't think he was angry. He says he thinks you're honorable, 'for your kind'. Kind of a back handed compliment if you ask me…"

Eric made a wry face. "That would be most of what Niall says, Sookie. I take no offense."

He sat on the couch and I snuggled up next to him.

"So, Niall was not my only visitor today. It was so odd. Jason came by right after work. He had a beer and just chatted. He asked me to be his baby's godmother. It was really weird. He just showed up, like it was nothing. We just sat and talked and listened to music. He told me off for not keeping the Benelli clean enough. He's going to loan me his sawed-off so Thalia can try it out back. Although, I guess the idea of putting another weapon at her disposal is a little questionable on my part, actually now that I'm thinking about it…"

"So you two got along okay, then?" He smiled at me encouragingly.

"Yeah, although like I say, it was kind of odd. We hadn't really spoken since the night of the Were Revelation a few weeks back. He went after Arlene when she was being nasty to me. I really wonder if Sam sent him over here. I just can't believe he put it together to come over here on his own. I have to ask Sam."

Eric looked amused but said nothing. But something about his manner seemed…

"Eric, did _you_ ask him to visit me?"

He nodded. "I called on the weekend and left him a message. He certainly took his time, since he waited another four days to visit, didn't he? I guess maybe it was hard for him."

"But what did you tell him?"

"I just told him that he can't expect that you're ever going to forgive him if he doesn't even come around. I think he wants to be on better terms with you. Bill and Sam think so, too. But I guess nobody would talk to him about it. So I did."

"What makes you even care, Eric? I thought you didn't even like Jason?"

"Well, I guess I don't. But you still do. He's your brother. I think you can use the family, frankly."

My eyes welled up with tears. I kissed him, and our embrace gradually took its usual course and we were off to the bedroom. Later, when we were lying there, he sat up and looked down at me, and touched the pendant. He looked me in the eyes and said,

"What else does it do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you… feel different…"

I nodded. "You mean because I wasn't fighting the urge to haul off and bite you?"

He stared into me with eyes that were like sapphire lasers. That was indeed what he meant.

"I realized what it means. And I'll never be vampire, Eric. I'll never be turned. Not willingly. If you love me, you won't try or try to convince me. It wouldn't be me anymore, anyway. I love you, but I could not live like you. I just couldn't. So, no more biting. It's just too much blood. I know what will happen if I continue to get too much at a time. I sense it. You wouldn't even have to consciously turn me, would you? Bill told me about stuff like that, long ago. So understanding where it comes from, yes, I feel differently. I have to be with you my way, as me. Just like you are you."

He looked at me with eyes that glowed slightly. He nodded slowly. "I accept your choice. I was not trying to mislead you. I guess I thought you needed to understand it your own way. And I didn't want to frighten you into one choice or the other. And you were a long way from turning."

"I'm still very yours," I said, brushing his hair behind an ear, then kissing him. There was a wave of sadness flowing through him.

I remembered what he had said the previous night. _To be apart can be painful. To suffer loss… would be very difficult._ He knew the risks when he wanted to move forward with the relationship with me. He knew them better than I ever could. _We still have time together,_ I thought to myself. Besides, if there was one thing the past week had shown me, it was that you never know when your time could end. Even if you were a vampire. I wasn't exactly about living only in the moment now, but for the first time in my life, I wasn't thinking about some future point that I had to get to in order to be happy. I _was_ happy. Here, now, with Eric. Even though tomorrow we would be headed to Las Vegas and uncertainty. I just have to try to be prepared for what lies ahead and to enjoy what I have now. And I was. On both accounts.

"I promised Amelia I was going to make Gran's apple pie before I left. Do you have time to stay a while?"

"I left Pam in charge. I don't have to go until much later. Pam was trying to get Thalia to stop threatening the tourists while she was checking some things in the club. Thalia wants to hire Amelia to ward all our businesses for stuff like fire and Fellowship activities. It's an interesting idea I had not considered."

"That sounds good. It sounds like a positive plan. I should tell Amelia to quietly add something to repel disposable Weres…"

"I don't think I'll tell Thalia about that one… what a crushing disappointment," he chuckled.

We got up and dressed and headed out to the kitchen holding hands. I hoped he was really okay with what I had told him. I felt a sadness from him. And I was sad for that. But I couldn't be different from what I was, anymore than he could. On the other hand, my choice meant that I could offer him things that I could not had I been like him. I could pull him from collapsing buildings in daylight. I could offer him a measure of protection that he might not have considered possible.

As I busied myself in the kitchen, Eric sat at the table, doing email on his evil Blackberry. I stood and looked at him for a moment and felt a swell of love in my heart. He turned and looked up at me and smiled softly, then went back to what he was typing. When I took the butter for the pie crust out of the refrigerator stopped to read the note again. I put the butter on the counter next to the back of flour and the pastry knife and got a highlighter pen out of the glass with all the pens and pencils near the phone. I highlighted harmony on the verb and noun definitions and put the pen back in the glass. Then I put an old U2 CD of Jason's in the CD player and went on making the apple pie for Amelia and Octavia. I paused for a minute to listen to the song _One_, which I had always loved. The lyrics at the end really struck me, and I realized that in spite of everything, my heart was really filled with hope. I still believed that it would all work out. I believed in harmony. And it was possible to reach accord even when two people were literally as different as night and day, as long as they had love in common. The music played on and I swayed with the song as I made apple pie for my friends.

One love

One blood

One life

You got to do what you should

One life

With each other…

We're one

But we're not the same

One life

But we're not the same

We get to

Carry each other

Carry each other

One

One.

**

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A/N- Next up a shorter story (bit of a thriller) on the Vegas trip, wherein you will learn more about Niall's gift.


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